With time ticking to plan and fund the construction of the new Whatcom County jail complex approved by voters in 2023, county officials are weighing design options, budget constraints and interior functional needs.
With a location in Ferndale, the justice center and behavioral health facility is projected to be the largest construction project in the county’s history with a current estimated cost of up to $174 million.
Officials are also considering the possibility for local buy-in, from construction laborers to community members, along with a lengthy wishlist on how best to rehabilitate offenders inside the jail while balancing cost estimates.
“It’s so important now for us to be able to scope this thing because we really can’t do anything until you find out what your costs are going to be,” said Barry Buchanan, a member of the Whatcom County Council who’s also a member of the Incarceration Prevention and Reduction Task Force.
Over the last year, local officials representing the county, the cities, the jail, the community and public health have visited jails and behavioral health crisis centers across the U.S. and around Washington state to see what features the new jail could hold. National experts also visited with members of the county and sheriff’s office during the summer to discuss best practices when planning a jail.
Officials visited newly-built jails in Columbus, Ohio, and Nashville, Tennessee, to get ideas of what they would like to see incorporated at the future jail. The Franklin County Corrections Center in Columbus is 405,000 square feet with 2,800 beds. The facility was built with behavioral health treatment in mind, with the goal of becoming a national model.
Similarly, the Davidson County Metro Criminal Justice Center in Nashville has the same amount of square footage and the capacity to house up to 1,000 people. There are also 64 beds for individuals with serious mental illnesses who are evaluated and need additional intervention.
The current Whatcom County Jail has been in use since the 1980s. Inmates and staff have described the conditions inside as inhumane and officials agree a new jail is needed. A CDN special report in 2022 revealed conditions a former sheriff described as “unacceptable” and a “nightmare.” The jail has nowhere to put people in a mental health crisis except for two padded cells deputies colloquially refer to as “drunk tanks.”
Revenue collections for the proposed Ferndale facility from the voter-approved 0.2% sales tax increase started in July 2024. During the 2023 election, officials estimated the facility would cost $150 million, but because of inflation and construction costs, Deputy Whatcom County Executive Kayla Schott-Bresler said in October that cost estimates are sitting at $174 million.
Initially, county officials threw around an estimate of 440 beds in the facility to the tune of $150 million with the knowledge that the size and scope estimates weren’t final. The jail proposal was sent to voters without a meaningful design or cost estimate for the facility.
Caleb Erickson, Whatcom County chief corrections deputy, said he’d like to see the new jail feature trauma-informed design as well as features that incorporate the outdoors, from natural lighting to wood tones. A horizontal jail build would also allow for services to be brought to detainees and reduce reliance on elevators.
“The facility itself should not cause more harm just by the nature of its existence,” Erickson told members of the Justice Project Oversight and Planning Committee on Jan. 16.
Erickson said that adding some normality into the correctional facility can help reduce recidivism and increase reintegration after incarceration.
“What would we find about a carceral setting that is normal and how can we improve that?” he said.
The largest project in county history
The scope of the project could bring about 1,000 construction jobs, said Lance Calloway, the northern district manager for the Associated General Contractors of Washington.
“It’s both good for the workforce, but it’s also great for the community,” he said, “because for every dollar that is expended on this project, it has a multiplier effect of $7 to $8 in our local economy.”
Whatcom County has also contracted with STV Construction for the project to provide consultant team services, including creating preliminary budgets for the jail and behavioral health project, facilitating communication engagement and coordinating on environmental oversight issues.
STV, a national engineering company that has experience in helping complete more than 500 jail and behavioral health projects, was selected during a competitive bid process. The contract, signed on Feb. 5, cannot exceed $369,545 to be paid through the Public Safety Sales Tax Fund.
Members of STV were also involved in the $61 million Library Commons in Mount Vernon, which opened in October and was the largest construction project size-wise in Mount Vernon’s history.
Design plans for the jail and behavioral health center are only in discussion stages. Without a design scope, it’s unclear what the county can afford.
Whatcom County hopes to start financial planning discussions for the facility in mid-February, according to County Executive Satpal Sidhu.
In a memo to county council members, Sidhu warned against constraining the capital budget of the jail at the moment. He encouraged council members to build a jail the county can afford to operate.
“Often there are tradeoffs between capital investments and operational costs,” he said. “I like to say that if we can save just 10 percent on operating costs based on a well-designed jail, we get a free jail over the life of the building.”
Schott-Bresler said last week that a recommended jail capacity and conceptual project budget would most likely be put to the county council by the end of the summer.
The earliest the jail and behavioral health facility could open is 2028.
A previous version of this story misstated STV Construction’s role in the Mount Vernon Library Commons project. This article was updated at 2:09 p.m. on Feb. 13, 2025. Cascadia Daily News regrets the error. This story has also been updated to clarify the estimated size and scope of the jail facility.
Annie Todd is CDN’s criminal justice/enterprise reporter; reach her at annietodd@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 130.
