Wayne County Board Eliminates Former State Prison As Viable Option For New Jail Site

DETROIT (WWJ) - There will not be a jail built at the closed State Prison on Mound Road on Detroit's east side.

The Wayne County Board of Commissioners made sure of that Thursday - passing a resolution by Chairman Gary Woronchak to close the door on that possibility.

"If we're trying to spread our attention among too broad of a field, of different possibilities, we are not going to ever focus on one. The point is to make a decision and we are not going to do, door number one and door number two, door number three and eventually we are just going to have two doors left and we are going to open one. And that's where it's at right now," said Woronchak. 

Wayne County officials are trying to consolidate what they say are outdated jails into one, single facility.

"To clear an unworkable option off the field - so that we can concentrate on those options that might be workable that are left," said Woronchak.

A jail being built on Gratiot at I-375 was halted in June 2013 because of concerns of construction cost over-runs.

Businessman Dan Gilbert has expressed interest in buying the Gratiot building to add to his downtown property portfolio.