Louisville's juvenile jail months behind schedule and $28 million more requested to fix it up

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The juvenile jail that was supposed to re-open in downtown Louisville this summer won't be ready in time and one lawmaker said the price tag is expected to have more than doubled.

State Representative Kevin Bratcher, (R) Louisville, who championed the move to remodel the old juvenile jail downtown said the facility hasn't even been transferred to the state yet.

On December 31, 2019, Louisville Metro Youth Detention Center on Jefferson Street closed and the next day it became Louisville Youth Transitional Services. An organization that uses the first floor of the building to help arrested and convicted youth going to court and with transfer services to detention centers around the state.

Last year, lawmakers passed $17.1 million to renovate the old building into a modern, safe juvenile detention center. The city of Louisville authorizing a transfer of the property to the state.

Now, the title transfer is what's holding up the renovation.

"We are working with our attorneys to complete the necessary paperwork to transfer the title to the state. We look forward to starting renovations on the Youth Detention Facility later this year," Kevin Trager with Mayor Craig Greenberg's office said in a statement.

A spokesperson for Kentucky's Department of Juvenile Justice said in a statement that it is working with Louisville Metro Government on the transfer and will begin the procurement process for a construction contract as soon as possible. The statement also said the original amount allocated last year was knowingly not enough to cover the costs.

In April of last year, WDRB News got a tour of the upper floors. Many of the cells and group areas were basically left untouched.

Bratcher said there's much needed plumbing and technology updates that will also need to be done.

"It will not open this year, 2024. It's -- there's just too much. It's not up to code, the plumbing is bad. There's a lot of instrumentation and wiring that needs to be put in. It's just a major upgrade," Bratcher said.

To accommodate the additional work needed, he's asking his fellow lawmakers to approve $28 million more in this year's budget. That would put the juvenile jail at a price tag of about $45 million.

"But this is for everything, not just the renovation. It's for everything to deal with the inclusion of that into the DJJ (Department of Juvenile Justice) system," he said.

One of the previous criticisms with opening a new jail was how the state would be able to staff it. Bratcher said with starting pay at about $50,000, it should help.

The new opening date isn't clear yet. But Bratcher said it will get done eventually.

"It's going to happen, you know, we need a juvenile detention center in Louisville to take care of children that get in trouble with the law," Bratcher said. "And then they can have their parents and clergy and friends close by to help try to turn them around and put them on the right right track before they turn 18."

In the meantime, the city said Youth Transitional Services is still operating out of the first floor of the building.

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