$1.3 billion funding for Fulton County Jail renovations, new facility approved

ATLANTA — The Fulton County Board of Commissioners gave the green light for $1.3 billion plan to improve conditions at the Fulton County Jail.

The board voted unanimously on Wednesday to approve the financing for the jail capital improvement program. The funds will be used to renovate housing spaces inside the jail, build a new special-purpose facility and demolish older facilities near the jail.

“This is the right thing to do and a historic step forward for the Fulton County Jail,” Fulton County Chair Robb Pitts said.

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Channel 2 Action News has reported for years on the jail’s crumbling infrastructure and overcrowding inside the jail on Rice Street.

It was originally built to house around 1,500 inmates. Right now, there are about 2,000 being housed there.

Pitts introduced a five-point plan for jail improvements. The commissioners approved it in March.

Fulton County Sheriff Patrick Labat though said he and his office were not consulted before the plan was introduced.

“Let’s be clear, we didn’t see the plan. We had no line of sight of the plan, only that it was occurring, so I think that’s a bit disingenuous,” Labat said in March.

On Thursday, the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office said the funding is a “step in the right direction,” but noted the $1.3 billion is less than the $1.67 billion needed to “to meet both current and future needs.”

“Our position remains unchanged: renovating 901 Rice Street is not the optimal solution. A full replacement is necessary to truly meet the demands of modern inmate resident care,” the statement read.

The chairman said the focus now is the plan’s implementation.

The board says it hopes to complete the Rice Street jail renovations by 2023. The county will start construction on the special purpose facility in 2028 with plans to open it by 2031.