Dallas County’s $5 billion plans to construct a new jail could unlock one of the most prominent redevelopment sites in the city.
County Judge Clay Jenkins said the county will begin moving forward in 2026 on a replacement for the Lew Sterrett Justice Center at 111 Commerce Street, citing severe overcrowding and the age of the facility, which was built nearly 50 years ago, according to an interview with WFAA.
The new jail is expected to cost north of $5 billion and could take nearly a decade to plan, approve and build.
“You don’t just throw up a jail in nine months or a year,” Jenkins said, comparing the timeline to other major civic projects like the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center overhaul.
One of the biggest unanswered questions is location. What is clear, Jenkins said, is that the next jail will not sit between Dallas’ two iconic Calatrava bridges, where the current complex occupies highly visible land along the Trinity River. State law requires the jail to remain within four miles of the county courthouse, narrowing the field but still leaving several potential sites in play.
Jenkins said the county expects to purchase land for the new facility later this year, a key step that would solidify plans and start the clock on what would be one of the region’s largest public-sector developments in decades.
The relocation could be just as consequential as the jail itself, as vacating the current site would free up a large swath of prime riverfront land near downtown, a parcel that has already been floated as a potential site for a new arena for the Dallas Mavericks, among other high-profile redevelopment concepts.
The jail sits on 15 acres of riverfront land owned by the county. The property is valued at $109 million, appraisal district records show.
“If you were building a jail now, you probably wouldn’t build it right in the middle of the postcard, front door of Dallas,” Jenkins told the outlet.
Jenkins emphasized that the new jail will be designed to emphasize mental health treatment and lower recidivism, an improvement from the current situation, which cycles inmates through an outdated facility.
— Eric Weilbacher
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