| Work Begins on New South West Detention Centre
August 12, 2011  Dwight Duncan, Minister of finance, poses for a Photograph by: By Brian Cross, The Windsor Star August 12, 2011 WINDSOR, Ont. -- The official start of construction Friday for the new $247-million South West Detention Centre means the cramped, deplorable conditions at the old Windsor Jail will be history by 2014. Forum Social Infrastructure, will build, finance and maintain the South West Detention Centre facility for 30 years. “The existing jail is obviously out of date, antiquated, it’s a health and safety hazard for the men and women who work for us in that facility,” Ontario Finance Minister Dwight Duncan told reporters during the groundbreaking at the new site on the Eighth Concession in Windsor, just north of the 401. “So it’s a very good and exciting day for Windsor-Essex.” The old jail at Brock and Peter streets in west Windsor has a capacity of 138, though it’s often overcrowded, housing more than 200 male and female inmates on weekends. The new South West Detention Centre will has a capacity of 315, and will serve as a regional jail for such jurisdictions as Windsor-Essex, Chatham-Kent and Sarnia. The consolidation will save the Ontario government money, and the construction will create 150 local jobs, Duncan said. When it’s done, between 250 and 300 staff will be employed at the 30-acre site. “This project will have a positive economic benefit for Windsor and Essex County,” he said. “With the construction of the South West Detention Centre, we are delivering on our government’s commitment to create jobs, stimulate local economies, keep Ontario strong and competitive, and support community safety in Windsor, Essex County and across the province.” When the site for the new jail was announced, there was a surge of opposition from people living in the rural area between the 401 and Windsor Airport. But Duncan said the government has gone to “extraordinary lengths to accommodate the community.” From the road, the centre will look more like a park than a prison, with a soccer field and cricket pitch taking up a good quarter of the property on the front lawn. These will be available for public use and maintained by the City of Windsor. Duncan said it should be completed by the fall of 2013, with occupation in 2014. |
