Public forums schedule on the city’s proposed low-rise, 7-acre municipal jail

Planning for Seattle’s new municipal jail location program is rolling along. Over the next two months the city will hold public forums about the four different jail locations. One question about the jail that Renee has been asking is why is the city planning to build a minimum seven-acre low-rise facility when the city is encouraging higher density elsewhere? The city says that it is cheaper to operate a low-rise jail, but Renee asks a great question because other cities have been able to build their jails up rather than out.

Here are the upcoming forums about the different jail locations. 

• Thursday, June 26, from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Aerospace Machinists Union Hall A, located at 9125 15th Place S. – focus: West Marginal Way and Myers Way sites;
• Saturday, July 12, from 9 a.m. to noon, in the Wellness Center at North Seattle Community College, located at 9600 College Way N. – focus: Aurora site;
• Saturday, July 26, from 9 a.m. to noon, in the Brockey Conference Center at South Seattle Community College, located at 6000 16th Ave. S.W. – focus: West Marginal Way and Myers Way sites;
• Wednesday, July 30, from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Seattle Center Exhibition Hall, located at 225 Mercer Street – focus: Interbay site.

And for those of you who are interested in jail design, below are some municipal jail photos from some different cities I found.   

LA’s 10 story municipal jail (kinda looks like an airport Sheraton)

Multnomah County Jail (Portland) (kinda looks like a downtown Sheraton)

Las Vegas’ 3-story municipal jail and justice center (not quite sure if this looks like a Sheraton)