Construction on the new Monroe County justice complex may not be completed until well into 2029.
Scott Carnegie, a project manager at DLZ, the architect firm working on the project, presented a timeline update to the Monroe County Council on Tuesday.
Carnegie said they anticipate receiving contractors’ bids in May next year. Construction would start afterward in July and the building is projected to be “substantially complete” in March 2029.
Carnegie will formally present the project pre-design phase at the council and Board of Commissioners’ joint session Thursday. There, he said the board will move to approve the formal design phase. The next two phases will be up for approval on April 30 and Sept. 25.
The county council approved the $11.375 million purchase of the 52-acre North Park justice complex property between Ellettsville and Bloomington in November. The commissioners approved the purchase in October. The complex will include a new jail and court space. Carnegie said it will include a new sheriff’s office, as well.
That came after over two years of delays and more than a decade of concerns about the conditions of the current jail.
Hard construction costs are expected to be just under $81 million. In all, the new jail will cost taxpayers between around $91.5 million and $106 million, according to a study by the RQAW Corporation. Other expenses include shared costs for a roadway and the expansion of the wastewater treatment plant to support the jail.
Not everyone has been supportive of the project. Some Ellettsville leaders worry the site could affect the town’s economic development. Anti-incarceration advocacy group Care not Cages members told the Indiana Daily Student in September they’d prefer the county invest in community and mental health resources.
The council-commission joint meeting will be at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at the Monroe County Courthouse.
