Macon-Bibb County Breaks Ground on Up to $31 Million Jail Expansion

Renovation and expansion work at the 46-year-old Law Enforcement Center in Macon-Bibb County, Ga., is expected to enhance security and improve healthcare treatment capabilities, including mental and behavioral health. | Photo Credit: Courtesy of Macon-Bibb County

• Macon-Bibb County, Ga., and the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office broke ground July 30 on the next phases of the Law Enforcement Center renovation and expansion project.
• The $28.5 million to $31 million project will add capacity for up to 150 beds, including 96 maximum-security beds and 24 beds for inmates experiencing mental health challenges.
• Phase two will renovate existing housing for behavioral and physical health services; phase three will construct a new housing unit.
• Jericho Design Group designed the project, Warren Associates Inc. is the construction manager, and officials are targeting completion by late 2027 or early 2028.

MACON, Ga. — Officials from Macon-Bibb County, Ga., and the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office broke ground July 30 on the next phases of a $28.5 million to $31 million renovation and expansion of the county’s Law Enforcement Center, advancing work intended to improve security, capacity and healthcare space at the aging jail.

The project will involve renovation of an existing housing area and construction of a new unit with capacity for up to 150 beds. Plans include 96 maximum-security beds and 24 beds designed for inmates experiencing mental health challenges.

“This project is about making sure our Law Enforcement Center can safely and effectively serve our community,” said Mayor Lester Miller in a press release from Macon-Bibb County. “By expanding capacity, improving security and creating space to better address the needs of inmates with mental health challenges, we’re investing in a facility that better supports our deputies, staff and the people they serve.”

The first phase, which began in April of this year, included demolition of the former James F. Higgins Building and construction of a new public parking lot. The now underway second phase will designate renovated space for River Edge Behavioral Health to provide services to inmates with mental health needs and will also support inmates with physical health challenges, The Telegraph reported. The final phase will deliver new housing and create space that officials say is needed to separate inmates based on security, behavioral and care requirements.

Jail Administrator Col. Samuel Jines said the expansion will include enhanced security features and should ease long-running operational constraints within the 46-year old jail, including overcrowding and aging infrastructure.

“It will help alleviate many of the significant logistical challenges we’ve faced over the years with our aging facility,” said Jines, according to a press release from Macon-Bibb County.

Sheriff David Davis said the added beds are meant to improve how the current population is managed, not drive population growth. According to Davis, the current jail has recently housed more than 1,000 inmates, slightly above its existing capacity.

“[T]his really wasn’t designed, in our view, to give us more room to put more inmates in. It was to use space more efficiently, to deal with the types of inmates that we have now. We have many more inmates now that have mental health issues; we have many other inmates now that have behavior and discipline issues, too,” said Davis, according to an article from WGXA.

The groundbreaking comes after sustained scrutiny of conditions at the facility. WGXA reported that local and state NAACP leaders, families of inmates and elected officials had raised concerns about violence, sanitation and health conditions. The station also reported that U.S. Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock had called for a Department of Justice investigation into incidents at the jail.

Jericho Design Group designed the expansion, and Warren Associates Inc. will serve as the contractor. The work is being funded in part through Macon-Bibb County’s voter-approved special purpose local option sales tax, or SPLOST.

Officials are targeting completion by the end of 2027 or the first quarter of 2028, although material availability and weather could affect the schedule.

Once complete, county officials say the expansion will create safer working conditions for staff, add specialized space for medical and behavioral health services and provide flexibility to renovate older portions of the facility. The Telegraph reported that the county purchased land off Seventh Street in 2025 for a potential future law enforcement complex, and local leaders have described the current addition as an interim step toward a replacement facility.

This article is based on a press release issued by Macon-Bibb County on July 30, 2026, with additional reporting published by The Telegraph on July 31, 2026 and WGXA on July 31, 2026, with an update on Aug. 3, 2026.