Dane County working on smaller jail facility

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Construction of a new Dane County Jail is underway.

The Dane County Sheriff’s Office in March broke ground on the South Tower project, which aims to replace the outdated cell blocks at the Dane County City-County Building Jail. The consolidation project will reduce the number of beds and solitary confinement space and expand medical and mental health spaces.

The new structure is being built over a surface parking lot between West Doty Street and West Wilson Street in Madison. The overall project, which includes new construction and renovations, will be completed in May 2027, said Steve Richards, a project manager at the Dane County Public Works. The $207 million project has been in planning since at least 2014.

Neenah-based Miron Construction is the general contractor and Mead & Hunt is the principal designer. Potter Lawson provided architectural services and HDR served as the structural engineer.

The new tower will let the sheriff’s office “vacate outdated detention spaces in other facilities and provide one consolidated jail facility,” Richards said.

The project is split into three phases: The first phase is the construction of the South Tower, which is expected to be completed in mid-2026. The second phase will include commissioning of the South Tower and transitioning inmates from other facilities, which will take around 12 weeks. The third phase is the renovation of the Public Safety Building, which is expected to wrap up May 2027.

When the six-story, 150,000-square-foot building is completed, there will be 825 available beds or 188 less than the current count, Richards said. Crews will renovate four of five floors, or 55,000 square feet, of the existing 200,000-square-foot Public Safety Building.

The county plans to vacate the sixth and seventh floors of the City County Building and vacating the Ferris Huber Center for the consolidation project, according to a 2023 presentation.

Using a “direct supervision” philosophy, the new facility will have deputies in housing units with inmates, according to the sheriff’s office. The design team included natural light, open spaces and biophilic design elements for the new facility.