Santa Barbara County Approves $138.65 Million Jail Expansion Contract with Sletten

Sletten Construction Company will partner with DLR Group on a design-build project to expand the Northern Branch Jail in Santa Barbara County, Calif. | Photo Credit: Santa Barbara County

• Santa Barbara County supervisors unanimously approved a $138.65 million design-build contract with Sletten Construction Company for the Northern Branch Jail expansion in Santa Maria.
• The project’s estimated total cost is $167.38 million, including contingency and additional expenses tied to compliance, permitting, inspections, furniture, fixtures and equipment.
• County staff said the design-build process will allow additional stakeholder input as the layout is refined, while public commenters urged officials to preserve flexibility for mental health treatment, programming and attorney meeting space.
• The expansion is part of the county’s broader effort to reduce reliance on the aging Main Jail in Santa Barbara and respond to systemwide operational and legal pressures.

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Santa Barbara County, Calif., will move ahead with a major expansion of the Northern Branch Jail after the Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a $138.65 million design-build contract with Sletten Construction Co. for the Santa Maria facility.

County officials said the project is expected to cost $167.38 million in total and will support the county’s longer-term strategy of shifting capacity away from the aging Main Jail in Santa Barbara while refining the final layout through a collaborative design process. The project will add 384 beds to the facility, separated into six 64-bed pods.

According to reporting from the Santa Barbara Independent and Noozhawk, supervisors approved the contract this week with little debate, authorizing Sletten — in collaboration with DLR Group — to design and construct the jail addition. Reporting from the Santa Barbara News-Press said the board also set aside roughly $6.9 million for potential scope changes, while additional project costs through 2030 are expected to include code compliance, permitting, inspections, furniture, fixtures and equipment.

“One of the advantages of the design-build approach is it allows for collaboration with our contractor, our construction partner, as well as many stakeholders who are engaged in the process,” Jeffrey Patton, Santa Barbara County’s Assistant Director for General Services, told the board, according to an article from Noozhawk.

County staff and members of the public framed the next phase as an opportunity to shape how the expansion functions over the long term. “We still do retain flexibility in ultimately what the layout is going to look like,” said Patton, according to an article from the Santa Barbara News-Press.

Public speakers and some supervisors pressed for a design that can support treatment programming, confidential meeting space and future operational changes if the jail population continues to decline. “Flexibility and forward thinking can potentially save the county millions of dollars in future operating costs,” according to an article from Noozhawk.

The broader policy discussion remains tied to the county’s effort to reduce pressure on the Main Jail, which local coverage has described as outdated and costly to operate. Noozhawk also reported that operational costs and overtime pressures continue to weigh on the county budget as officials consider how to manage two facilities.

For now, the North Branch Jail expansion project is estimated to take 36 months to complete, including the design process. Groundbreaking is expected to take place nine-to-12 months from the July 13 notice to proceed.

“It was a very successful pursuit, and we’re excited to hit the ground running with the county,” Sletten President Tony Ewalt told Correctional News.

Correctional News previously reported on the Northern Branch Jail’s initial groundbreaking in October 2016, and noted a 2020 contingency funding increase as the original project moved toward completion. The jail was built with a capacity of 376 beds across 138,000 square feet; the expansion will bring capacity to 760 beds.

This article is based on reporting originally published by the Santa Barbara Independent on July 8, 2026, with additional reporting from Noozhawk and the Santa Barbara News-Press on July 7, 2026.