Sarasota county jail expansion could cost upward of $700 million

Sarasota County Jail has reached its capacity, and relief won’t come until 2032. And getting there could cost county taxpayers upwards of $500 million to $700 million.

On Tuesday, the Sarasota County Commission received that news in the form of a report from staff, seeking guidance on which of three options should be pursued to replace the jail's current west wing, add office space, more parking and build a new criminal reintegration center.

The most expensive of the three options — estimated at between $650 million and $700 million — came as sticker shock to commissioners, who unanimously rejected Option 1. That cost was driven in part by placing the criminal reintegration center (CRC) at the northeast corner of Main Street and Washington Boulevard, prime downtown land that is currently used as a surface parking lot.

Capital Projects Manager Brad Gaubatz presented the options to commissioners as part of a continuing discussion aimed at developing a plan to expand the criminal justice campus in the eastern downtown area in time to place a referendum on the ballot for the 2026 general election. 

County Administrator Jonathan Lewis implored commissioners to select only an option or options they are willing to seriously entertain.

“What you're doing today is allowing us to go forward with drilling down on the best options,” said Lewis, explaining that assigning staff to go forward with two options is acceptable. “It doesn't mean that’s your final decision. It’s just we can't spend the time and effort required to go to the next level of detail for our staff and others that are involved without that.”

Gaubatz did not provide cost estimates for Options 2 and 3, but didn’t rule out the cost range pushing $700 million, but could be as little as $500 million.

“You should have left that cost slide off of the presentation because that shocks us,” said Commissioner Ron Cutsinger. Added Commissioner Teresa Mast, "The impact of a $700 million project is gasping. It’s one of those things that just takes the wind out of your soul. I understand that you did the best you could in the time frame that you were given. Now it's time for us to be very realistic about expectations and numbers, and when we come back. I want the numbers to be much, much tighter. When I look at a $200 million cushion, that's brutal.”

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In terms of property tax impact, according to Deputy County Administrator and CFO Steve Botelho, at $700 million, taxpayers would be on the hook for $94 per $300,000 in assessed property value per year. At $500 million, it would be $67 per year.

But the county is already exceeding the jail's operational capacity, said Major Brian Meinberg of the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office, adding that Sarasota is second only to Pasco County in inmate crowding. The county north of Tampa is addressing that situation, building more jail space set to open in 2026.

“We're less than 100 away right now from sending inmates to another facility, and that, I can tell you, is a very high cost,” Meinberg said. “Then, of course, we need to transfer these people back and forth. It could be tens of millions dollars a year just to send 100 inmates out to another facility right now, and we're just about there.”

Both options 2 and 3 include rebuilding the west wing of the jail, which built in 1975 has an operational capacity of 77 inmates. It would be replaced with a five-story building housing 240 per floor on levels 2-4, the top floor being a shell for future housing of another 240. That would take the total operational capacity of the jail complex from 773 to 1,308.

Built in 1986, the east wing has an operational capacity of 451 with the north wing, which opened in 2002, at 245.

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Courtesy image

According to the Sheriff’s Office, the projected 2025 population of the jail is 1,081, 308 more than the operational capacity. By 2032, it is expected to swell to 1,177, 404 more than operational capacity, and by the time the expansion would open in 2033, the projected population of 1,191 would leave a surplus of 117. The increased capacity should carry the county through 2041 before another expansion would need to be considered.

While there was no dispute among commissioners that the expansion expenditure is necessary — pending referendum approval — how it gets paid for is a matter of concern. Some currently scheduled capital improvement projects, they suggested, may be put on hold.

“This is one of those challenging things, but there's no question in my mind we need to move forward with all due speed on figuring out the solutions here,” Cutsinger said. “We've got a lot of of decisions to make about how we fund it.”

Added Commissioner Mark Smith, “This is the highest priority I believe we have. There’s real urgency. The sad thing about it is we're looking at eight years down the road before we're able to get out of this mess.”