Officials with the Franklin County Sheriff Office and the Franklin County Board of Commissioners broke ground on a new jail Monday afternoon.
The first phase of the project, located on the west side of Columbus, will include 900 beds for inmates and cost approximately $175 million.
This phase, set to open in late 2019, will allow the county to close the current downtown jail facility. That facility first opened in 1969.
Phase one will include 16 individual housing units including specialized units for orientation, mental health, behavioral, medical, and maximum security.
Future construction will bring the total to more than 2,000 beds and lead to the closure of the other county jail facility on Jackson Pike.
The county will fund construction of the jail from proceeds of a quarter-cent sales tax enacted in 2013.
The tax will also fund construction of a new morgue, or Forensic Science Center, on the south side of Franklin County, as well as some economic development, workforce training, and environmental sustainability loans.