LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — The state legislature has allocated nearly $40 million to renovating Louisville's shuttered juvenile jail, and it should reopen next spring after years of construction. But some city leaders said that's waiting too long.

Metro Councilman Kevin Bratcher spent years fighting for the Jefferson County Regional Youth Detention Center to reopen. The former city-run facility on Jefferson Street shut down in 2019 because of staffing, safety and budget concerns.

"How are we going to turn their lives around if we don't have a facility like this?" Bratcher said Wednesday. "Because once they turn 18, their options run out."

In 2023, the General Assembly allocated money to reopen it as a state facility. Metro Government then handed the building over to the state in April 2025 so it could be renovated.

Once finished, renovated facility will include 18 additional cells for a total of 64 beds — triple the old facility's capacity. In a written statement Wednesday, a spokesperson with the Kentucky Justice & Public Safety Cabinet said the new facility will be used to house "high level male offenders."

Bratcher said Louisville's youth offenders now get sent to Warren County, Adair County or straight home, making it harder for city counselors, clergy members and other advocates to intervene.

"They need a place where they are sat down, detained and then you try to reach them," he said.

Youth violence has long been an issue in Louisville. Just two weeks ago, a 13-year-old shot and killed two adults and sent a third to the hospital. 

Bratcher said something's got to give.

"My god, what is this? The Wild Wild West," he said. "Kids are getting killed. This needs to be the top priority in Kentucky."

Mesh netting, planks of wood, cinder blocks and massive machines at the facility Wednesday were signs of progress. Mayor Craig Greenberg said the city needs it open as soon as possible and applauded state legislators for helping make it happen.

The state set aside $18.5 million in the current budget to fund the center downtown and the Jefferson Regional Detention Center in Lyndon through 2028. Gov. Andy Beshear overhauled how Kentucky handles some young offenders in its juvenile jails, putting an emphasis on increasing security, mental health care and stricter handling of violent offenses.

"I know this won't solve all the problems but this will be a big part of the puzzle to get this thing open so we can start reaching these kids," Bratcher said.

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