Ribbon Cut at New $155 Million Grant County Jail in Washington

A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held June 17 at the new $155 million, 512-bed Grant County Jail in Ephrata, Wash. | Photo Credit: Grant County Sheriff’s Office

• Grant County officials celebrated the opening of a new 512-bed jail in Ephrata on June 17, capping a multiyear effort to replace the county’s outdated detention facility.
• County leaders said the project was completed ahead of schedule and under budget, with change orders below 3%.
• The new facility is designed to improve booking flow, staff safety and medical and behavioral health support while allowing future expansion.
• The project emerged from years of overcrowding concerns, voter support for a public-safety sales tax and complex rural-site development work.

EPHRATA, Wash. – Officials and community members in Grant County, Wash., held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for its new jail facility on June 17, giving county representatives and Grant County Sheriff’s Office (GCSO) staff a long-awaited milestone in a project intended to address longstanding overcrowding, operational constraints and future growth.

The new $155 million facility in Ephrata will open with 512 beds and was designed to support more efficient intake, classification and staff operations. County leaders also said the building can be expanded over time, positioning it as a long-term replacement for the county’s aging jail.

The project reflects a broader county response to crowding and booking limitations that had built over many years. Correctional News previously reported that the old jail, built in the 1980s and later expanded, had long failed to keep pace with regional growth and seasonal population increases tied in part to tourism and events at the Gorge Amphitheater. Grant County leaders pursued extensive town hall outreach before voters approved a three-tenths of 1% sales tax to help fund the replacement facility.

During the ceremony, county officials described the opening as the culmination of those years of planning, public outreach and coordination among county departments, designers, builders and the broader community.

“This project really started back in 2019. The sheriff spent a year doing town halls to make the case for a sales tax increase and investing in public safety, that took time and it took trust,” said Grant County Administrator Tom Gaines, according to an article from the Columbia Basin Herald.

The new campus was designed to address more than bed capacity alone. Designed by Clemons Rutherford & Associates and built by Lydig Construction, the facility includes a 156,000-square-foot jail and a 32,600-square-foot sheriff’s complex, with centralized operations intended to improve movement, visibility and safety. The intake area includes a triage station for screening medical, mental health and substance-use needs, while staff areas include wellness and training spaces intended to support retention and reduce reliance on off-site instruction.

The project’s path to completion also required substantial site and infrastructure work. Grant County selected a former racetrack site outside Ephrata, then worked through annexation, utility extensions and related public improvements to make the campus viable. The construction team also coordinated roadway and utility work connected to the development, underscoring the complexity of building a large detention campus in a rural setting.

Officials said the project was delivered ahead of schedule and under budget, an uncommon result for a facility of this scale. Gaines also said change orders remained below 3%, according to an article from the Columbia Basin Herald.

Even with the ribbon cutting complete, county officials said the transition is not finished. Staff training and operational testing are still underway before incarcerated individuals are moved into the facility.

Once that training is complete, the county is eager to officially open the facility and begin a new chapter in Grant County corrections.

“This new facility is a true reflection of how corrections can contribute to the community around us and to our incarcerated population,” the GCSO’s Chief Deputy of Corrections Phillip Coats told Correctional News. “It’s really going to increase the awareness of what correctional professionals actually do, and it’s an investment back into our staff to make sure we’re taking care of them.”

For now, video tours of the new facility, including the new intake area, dormitories and housing cells, sally port and control room, are available on the GCSO’s Facebook page.

This article is based on reporting originally published by the Columbia Basin Herald on June 18, 2026, with supplemental context from previous Correctional News coverage published July 24, 2025, and Sept. 30, 2025.