New Wayne County Criminal Justice Center to open next month
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The Wayne County Criminal Justice Center. Photo: Annalise Frank/Axios Detroit
A new Wayne County jail complex in Detroit has been in the works for more than a decade, with a complicated series of transactions and pivots leading to the planned opening of the Criminal Justice Center next month.
The big picture: There have been several recent updates in the long tale of where Wayne County would house incarcerated individuals after it decided to replace aging facilities and incorporate new technology, according to Free Press archives.
- We've broken down the news by property — there are three sites in greater downtown that star in the jail saga.
"Fail jail"
A stalled plan to build a Wayne County jail on Gratiot Avenue between Greektown and I-375 was officially scrapped in 2017 after a groundbreaking in 2011 under former county executive Robert Ficano, according to the Free Press.
- Work progressed on the jail for nearly two years before mismanagement and nearly $100 million in cost overruns led to its stoppage. It sat half-finished until its demolition in 2018.
Crain's reported this week that new details have emerged about billionaire Dan Gilbert's real estate company's vision for the so-called "fail jail" site.
- The "innovation district" development would feature a five-story building with an anchor tenant described as "a renowned precision medicine outpatient facility," per Crain's.
- The mission of the yet-unnamed tenant appears to align "with the aspirations of Grand Rapids-based BAMF Health" for expanding its advanced cancer treatment to Detroit, Crain's wrote.
Previous scrapped plans floated for the site over the last decade include Gilbert and Tom Gores' soccer stadium, and a project between Gilbert and billionaire Stephen Ross.
Gilbert-built jail
Instead of restarting construction on the "fail jail" site, Wayne County decided to make a deal with Dan Gilbert's Rock Ventures in 2018 to build a criminal justice complex at 5301 Russell St. near I-75 and I-94.
- That new seven-building complex with a courthouse and adult and youth detention facilities is opening Sept. 3, BridgeDetroit reported.
- It was long delayed, with the pandemic and supply chain issues, originally set to open in 2022.
Old jail faces demo
As it moves to Russell Street, Wayne County is leaving its criminal justice site near Greektown — two jails, a juvenile facility and the Frank Murphy Hall of Justice.
- At least some of those buildings are expected to be demolished later this year after the new complex opens, the Detroit News reported this month.
- Gilbert's company acquired the existing criminal justice facilities as part of the deal to build the new jail.
- After Gilbert's real estate company demolishes the buildings, it'll have about five blocks worth of property for its own uses, according to the News.