Ohio Grants $24 Million for Jail Construction, Renovation Projects

Renderings for the behavioral health and medical wing at the Montgomery County Jail show the new men’s detox unit. | Photo Credit: Montgomery County, Levin Porter Architects, HDR

By Charlie Lange

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Late last month, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction Director Annette Chambers-Smith announced that the state will award more than $24 million in grants to support construction and renovation projects at three jails across the state.

According to a release from Gov. DeWine’s office, the funding will be awarded through the Ohio Jail Safety and Security Program, which helps local communities fund improvements at functionally obsolete and structurally failing jails. Since being launched by Governor DeWine in partnership with the Ohio General Assembly in 2021, the program has supplied more than $230 million in funding for nearly 70 jail projects statewide, including 25 new or renovated jails and over three dozen jail security and life-safety projects.

“Jails are expensive to build and expensive to keep up, so this program helps ease some of the financial burden at the local level,” said Governor DeWine. “This program has already made a major impact at jails across the state by helping create safer environments for those working and residing at these facilities.”

The recently awarded grants include:

• $13 million to support ongoing renovations at the Montgomery County Jail
• $7.5 million to support ongoing construction of a new housing unit at the Stark County Jail
• Approximately $4 million to support land acquisition and design work for a new Clark County Jail

The Montgomery County project involves converting 226 general population beds into a behavioral health and medical wing, expanding the jail’s medical bed capacity from 12 to 112. The estimated $20 million project has been funded by the American Rescue Plan and opioid settlement funds, and the recently awarded $13 million will reportedly cover necessary mechanical upgrades for the project. Construction of the behavioral health unit began in October and is expected to be complete by mid-2027. The project team includes Levin Porter Architects, HDR, Granger, HEAPY and Shell + Meyers Associates.

The work in Stark County involves building a new pod-style housing unit with a 312-bed capacity, including 144 beds for mental health treatment. The project broke ground in August of this year and is expected to cost around $75 million total. Of that budget, $35 million in funding was supplied through the American Rescue Plan Act. HOK and K2M Design are the project architects, with the Granger-Welty joint venture acting as construction manager.

Finally, Clark County is seeking to replace its almost 50-year-old jail with a new 454-bed facility that is estimated to cost between $100 million and $125 million. These recommendations stemmed from a jail study conducted for the county by DLZ Architects in 2023. Earlier last month, Clark County voters rejected a sales tax increase that would have helped fund the project.

According to Gov. DeWine’s office, an additional $5 million will be put toward security and safety projects at other local jails across the state as needs arise.

“Security is the foundation on which rehabilitation is possible,” said Director Annette Chambers-Smith. “If we can ensure these jails have their basic needs addressed, they will be able to better change the lives of the people in their care.”

The program is administered through the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction’s Bureau of Adult Detention, and funding for this round of grants comes from the existing program budget.