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A look at the new Wayne County Criminal Justice Center and what it replaces

Detroit — Wayne County's 13-year odyssey to build a new criminal justice center — filled with interruptions, new beginnings and an abandoned previous site — could end in early September as it prepares to open a new complex that replaces outdated, sometimes dangerous conditions with safe, efficient space.

Barring a last-minute delay, the county's courts and jails will begin operating Sept. 3 in a new five-building facility on Russell Street, north of Warren Avenue and east of Interstate 75. It will house the offices of the district attorney and her staff, the sheriff, more than two dozen courtrooms, a juvenile detention center and an adult jail.

The new Wayne County Criminal Justice Center is “the largest construction project in Wayne County history,” said James Heath, Wayne County’s legal counsel.

The total cost of the massive move is not yet known, but the bill for taxpayers is more than $500 million, according to estimates provided to The Detroit News through a Freedom of Information Act request.

During a media tour of parts of the facility earlier this month, county officials showed off the roughly 1 million-square-foot complex. The new center could help solve many of the dangerous challenges facing the county's criminal justice system, many county officials say. Some of the jail cells currently in use, for example, are nearly 100 years old, officials said.

“We are leaving behind an outdated infrastructure,” said Radken Smith, deputy director of the juvenile detention center, referring to the facility in Hamtramck that Wayne County now uses for juvenile inmates.

The half-billion dollars for the new justice complex does not include the cost of an earlier “failed jail project” over a decade ago. In 2011, the county began construction on a new jail near the existing downtown jail facilities and the Frank Murphy Hall of Justice. But in 2013, construction on the partially completed jail was halted because it was $90 million over budget.

A 2018 deal with private developer Bedrock finally made the county's long-delayed dream of a new criminal justice center a reality.

1,700 employees in one complex

Scheduled to open on September 3, the day after Labor Day, the new justice center will house the county's main jail, a juvenile detention center, 26 courtrooms for Michigan's 3rd Judicial District, and the headquarters of the Wayne County District Attorney's Office.

The facility “brings us into the 21st century and is extremely user-friendly,” said prosecutor Kym Worthy.

About 1,700 county employees will work at the complex, county officials said. The new justice center has more than 2,000 parking spaces that are free for employees and visitors.

The facility, located at 5301 Russell Street, is on about 10 acres east of I-75 and East Warren Avenue. It is not far from the city's Midtown neighborhood and about two miles north of the downtown jails and courthouses that the new criminal justice center is replacing.

For weeks, county employees have been busy packing up and preparing to move out of the Frank Murphy Hall of Justice, two adult prisons and the current juvenile detention center in Hamtramck.

Bedrock has overseen construction of the new center and in return acquired the downtown buildings the county is leaving. The Frank Murphy Hall of Justice, which houses the criminal division of the Wayne County District Courts, and the adjacent jails near Greektown in downtown are now owned by Bedrock. The same is true of a former juvenile detention center located a block from the courthouse and adult jails in the Greektown district.

The new juvenile justice center, which will include a gymnasium with a basketball court for inmates, “will provide a culture of calm for the youth we bring there,” said Mack McGhee, division director of youth and youth services at the county's juvenile detention center.

In 2022, the county abandoned its downtown youth prison due to overcrowding and staff shortages, moving to a vacant former adult prison in Hamtramck.

The new facility was opened after a 12-year-old boy was allegedly attacked at the Hamtramck facility last March, forcing the state to step in. Wayne County Executive Warren Evans declared a state of emergency, saying conditions were “untenable” and there were problems with overcrowding, assaults and a lack of basic necessities for inmates.

Better technology

The technology and design of the new justice complex also represent a huge improvement over current conditions, county officials say.

One key difference is the units where the juvenile inmates will sleep. The current facility has up to 60 cells per unit, officials said. The new facility can only house up to 16 youths, McGhee said. That will significantly increase the staff ratio supervising the youths. The state of Michigan requires a 2:10 staff ratio, meaning 2 adult staff members supervise 10 youths, county officials said. The new facility will have a 3:16 staff ratio.

The Wayne County Sheriff's Office is leaving behind adult jails, some of which are nearly 100 years old. The new facility will accommodate 2,280 adult inmates.

“We couldn’t be happier,” said Edward Foxworth, communications director for the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office.

Because the new facility will combine courts and jails, it should be easier for friends and family of inmates to navigate the court system, pay bail and get more information, said Captain Rachael Davis of the Wayne County Sheriff's Office.

“You don’t have to go from place to place all over the city,” Davis said, a complaint officers often hear.

Judge Patricia Perez Fresard, presiding judge of Wayne County's 3rd District Court, said the overall area has been significantly improved.

“There are 26 courtrooms, each offering more space for all parties,” Fresard said.

The new courtrooms will be equipped with video monitors and assistive listening devices. The new facility also has 52 attorney rooms where clients can meet with attorneys. There are no attorney-client rooms at Frank Murphy, Fresard said. The jury assembly room is also much larger, she said.

The new center “will provide the Wayne County community with a better level of service and a greater level of convenience and comfort for all,” Fresard said.

Labor shortage

Outdated jails are just one of the challenges facing the county's criminal justice system. Another is the county's chronic workforce shortage for positions, which the county says is hitting all areas of the criminal justice system particularly hard. The sheriff's office, for example, has a budget for 453 total corporal positions for this fiscal year, but had 195 vacancies in January 2024, according to data obtained through the Freedom of Information Act.

The Wayne County Sheriff's Deputy Association, the union that represents about 500 police officers, is taking a wait-and-see approach to the new facility. It will be some time before the union can make “any assessment” about whether the facility will live up to its promises, said Corporal Allen Cox, president of the deputy association.

“It will be an opportunity for a fresh start,” Cox said. “It looks like a wonderful new facility. It's like a brand new boat. Until you drive it, you won't know what it can and can't do.”

The District Attorney's Office is moving more than 200 attorneys and over 90 support staff from the Frank Murphy Building to the Criminal Justice Center. The move also meant the Attorney's Office implemented a new digital administrative system to manage its numerous paper files.

“This has been a great, positive endeavor,” Worthy said. “Having all the criminal justice units in one complex will be a tremendous benefit to the community. You don't even have to leave the new facility.”

The new correctional complex would not have happened without the deal Wayne County struck with Bedrock in 2018. The contract calls for the county to spend a total of $401.3 million on the project, while Rock Ventures will cover the remaining construction cost overruns, according to documents obtained by The News.

The latest cost estimates to taxpayers are just over $500 million as of Dec. 31, nearly $100 million higher than the original estimate, according to documents obtained by The News.

Costs to the county increased due to a number of incidental costs, including the $34 million expansion of a central DTE utility plant, about $20 million for a range of services such as consultants and attorneys, and about two dozen “change orders” for the facility, as well as the decision to buy a parking lot from Bedrock for $27 million.

The final bill for the district has not yet been partially paid because the moving costs have not yet been finalized, said Heath, the district's corporate lawyer.

County officials, however, believe the deal will allow the county to save significantly on Bedrock's increased construction costs in recent years.

The new criminal justice center was originally scheduled to open in spring or summer 2022. However, due to the pandemic and resulting supply chain issues, the planned opening has been postponed until this year.

“This deal will probably go down as one of the most historic public-private partnership deals” for the county, said Wayne County Commissioner Jonathan Kinloch. The deal was “greatly to the county's advantage” due to increased construction costs, he said. “After COVID, I don't think this deal would have happened.”

What happens to old systems?

As for the buildings Wayne County is vacating, Bedrock CEO Kofi Bonner said the company plans to demolish at least some of the buildings. He did not specify which buildings or the exact timeline.

“We expect to begin demolition and cleanup work later this year,” Bonner said in an email to The News.

Bedrock owns the Frank Murphy Hall of Justice and the Juvenile Detention Center, both located on St. Antoine Street, as well as Jail 1 and Jail 2 on Clinton Street. The buildings are also located near the former Detroit Police Headquarters at 1300 Beaubien. The historic vacant building was designed by famed architect Albert Kahn and has been owned by Bedrock since 2018.

Bedrock also includes the vacant 14-acre “failed prison” site at Gratiot Avenue, I-375 Service Drive, Clinton Street and St. Antoine Street.

The properties give Bedrock control over a five-block area that it can redevelop.

“We are currently working on business development to develop and revitalize an area that will provide greater opportunities for local economic growth and attract talent through innovative partnerships and targeted investments,” Bonner wrote.

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