After 10 years and $66M, new facilities for the Placer County sheriff will open
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- Two new jail facilities in Placer County will open in fall 2025 after 10 years.
- The $66M project adds 165 beds and includes vocational and mental health centers.
- Facilities aim to ease overcrowding and expand inmate rehabilitation programs.
After more than 10 years, a pair of facilities costing $66 million for the Placer County Sheriff’s Office will open this fall, county officials said Tuesday.
The Placer County Board of Supervisors in 2022 approved construction contracts, contingent upon state financing, for mental health and vocational facilities at the Bill Santucci Justice Center in Roseville. The space includes the South Placer Jail, Placer County Superior Court and the District Attorney’s Office.
A 38,837-square-foot vocational center will cost about $43.5 million and offer 120 beds to inmates. A mental health facility, costing about $22.6 million, will have 45-inmate beds across its 16,272 square feet, according to a presentation given Tuesday by project manager Lisa James to the Board of Supervisors.
Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved to sublease the facilities until state bonds are paid off.
The completion of both facilities will add 165 beds to the South Placer Jail, a move that Placer County Sheriff Wayne Woo has celebrated to alleviate a lack of bed space at the jail. Since 1993, a separate jail in Auburn has been under federal consent decree and must release inmates after a certain capacity is reached.
“The opening and delivery of the two projects will mark a milestone of 10-plus years of effort, demonstrating resilience, adaptability and long-term strategic planning,” James said.
A ribbon cutting is scheduled in October, James said. Residents can begin using the vocational health facility in November.
The mental health facility will connect to the South Placer Jail through a corridor, but can also serve as a standalone building, according to a project description. Inmates deemed in need of mental health care can receive treatment in this building.
At the vocational facility, individuals will be able to attain trade skills such as welding, vinyl printing, embroidery and construction, James said.
Both buildings were funded by laws intended to help local counties manage the jail populations. Senate Bill 863 and SB 844 allowed the Board of State and Community Corrections to authorize millions of dollars in revenue bonds, notes or bond anticipation for a criminal justice facility, according to the BSCC.
SB 863 passed in 2014 and SB 844 passed in 2016.