Moving the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office headquarters and jail would not be cheap.
A proposal was included in the Capital Improvements Proposal released Monday by the Mayor's Office. The request was made, both this year and last, but the expectation is funding wouldn't happen at any point in the next five years.
The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office is estimating $96,877,915 for a new Police Memorial Building, $246,193,974 for a 3,000-bed jail at 4727 Lannie Rd (it would be used to consolidate and replace existing structures at the Montgomery Correctional Center) and a $41,032.146, 500-bed detention facility in downtown Jacksonville.
JSO is also expecting to request $2,507,500 in the 2020-2021 budget for a Homeland Security, Narcotics and Vice building.
But could the cost be offset by their current property?
"At the time when the Police Memorial Building and other city buildings were on the river, it was not prime real estate," Duval County Property Appraiser Jerry Holland said. "If that property were vacant today, it would sell for six and a half million dollars."
JSO moved to its current location during the 1970s. The whole idea behind this request is to start a plan for the future. The Sheriff's Office is asking to develop a plan for the creation and construction of a new headquarters with a to-be-determined location.
The proposal says JSO will outgrow their current headquarters and the current jail's location, age and condition may make it a necessity.
In a statement to First Coast News, a JSO spokesperson said:
"The budget line for facilities is actually a carry-over item from previous years’ budget requests. The request simply serves as a starting point for long-range planning considerations for when JSO will have administratively outgrown the Police Memorial Building and the corrections functions surpass the current facility capacity, along with recognizing the evolution of the downtown area. There is no current request in place, but in the future, these concerns will need to be considered."
Still, others wish they would move sooner rather than later.
“I think it would be a little bit better if it was moved somewhere away from the sports district and downtown," said one downtown worker. “It’s a giant concrete structure that doesn’t look too good.”
The property is almost 10 acres and, including facilities, worth at least 70 million dollars, according to Holland.
Holland says depending on how the downtown shakes out over the next few years, and if JSO decides to move locations, the city could own a very valuable piece of property.
“It is exciting because for once we are looking a long-range plan to move the city forward," Holland said.