PORTSMOUTH, Va. — Portsmouth's current city jail is in downtown on Crawford Street. The city wants to move it to the Hampton Roads Regional Jail site on Elmhurst Lane. The regional jail closed April 1.
The reason? Portsmouth wants to solve logistical issues and redevelop the area where the city jail currently sits.
At a work session Tuesday, Portsmouth council members heard from Moseley Architects who've been studying the Elmhurst Lane location and the city's needs.
Portsmouth
More waterfront property? Portsmouth looks to move Crawford St. jail to HRRJ
"We sat down with the sheriff's office and said, 'Is this going to work for you? Are you going to be able to house inmates with this? What modifications would you need?'" said David Hackworth, Moseley Architects. "So from that we put this plan together."
The plan outlines the need for the city to modify some of the jail pods for different custody levels and add video arraignment space.
The total cost of buying the building, making updates, and a bit of contingency will be roughly $45 million.
But the city expects to spend some of the money before it can get legislative budget approval in the April 2025 General Assembly.
Watch previous coverage: More waterfront property? Portsmouth looks to move Crawford St. jail to closed Hampton Roads Regional Jail
"My concern is buildings don't like to be empty, they start to fall apart pretty quickly," said Mark Hugel, Portsmouth councilman. "So, seems to me the sooner we can move into the jail and start using the jail as our jail like it was being used as the regional jail the better off we'll be."
The city wants to move inmates into the former regional jail facility as early as this summer.
At the same time, they'll be looking to section off space designated for juvenile offenders.
