The Allen County Council approved the final measure in the voting process of building the new county jail at its meeting on Wednesday.
The body approved the Allen County Commissioners’ proposal to sell/lease the historic Allen County Courthouse and the property that will house the new jail to the Building Corporation.
That approval and close of the sale will allow the Building Corporation, a nonprofit that exists for the sole purpose of assisting the county with financing of facilities, to sell construction bonds that will fund building the new $300 million Allen County Jail.
This proposal had been held up for months by legal challenges, specifically a lawsuit targeting the use of the courthouse as part of the funding package.
In September, an Indiana Tax Court judge dismissed the lawsuit filed by Allen County Residents Against The Jail. While no formal appeal has been filed, and the group has said it would not appeal.
That group and others have attempted to halt the construction of the jail, citing costs and alternatives, since it was proposed.
Officials have said delays caused by the lawsuit added costs to the project.
The new jail is the county’s accepted long-term solution to a federal court order to address unconstitutional conditions at the current Allen County Jail in downtown Fort Wayne, including overcrowding and aging infrastructure.
The commissioners’ bond counsel Rick Hall said Wednesday that the sale/lease agreement was not an allocation of more funds to the jail project, but instead, it was a funding mechanism that allows the county to avoid $20 million in interest fees.
He said the courthouse will continue to operate as normal.
Hall said the Building Corporation “needs assets to lease in order to sell bonds.”
The Building Corporation will only own the properties for the duration of the construction process, which the Allen County Commissioners estimate will take three years. Commissioners Chief of Staff Chris Cloud said upon completion of the jail, the Building Corporation will “deed the (properties) back to the county.”
Commissioners said they hope to break ground on the new jail during the week of Nov. 14.
The County Council approved the proposal by a four to three vote.
