Penobscot County narrows potential site of new jail to 2 properties
By Marie Weidmayer, Bangor Daily News Staff
The potential site for a new Penobscot County Jail has been narrowed down to two properties.
As of September, the Penobscot County Commissioners were considering four potential properties after other sites fell through. Now commissioners are considering two sites, County Administrator Scott Adkins said Tuesday.
This is the first public update about the site of the new jail in months. Commissioners have talked about finding a site for a new jail for more than a year, following years of discussion about building a jail in downtown Bangor.
County officials say the Penobscot County Jail is in poor condition and that it is not worth making repairs to the building, which was constructed in 1869. Buying a piece of property is the first step toward building the new facility.
One site is still under review, Adkins said. The other site has an option agreement, which means the county has exclusive rights to purchase the property for a specific period of time.
Adkins declined to say where the sites are located.
The goal is to have the bond for the new jail on the November ballot, however it may already be too late for that, Adkins said. There needs to be time to inform the public about what happens if the bond passes and what happens if it fails, he said.
County commissioners held an executive session June 17 to discuss the purchase of property with broker David Hughes and architect Matthew Carter. A second executive session on July 2 was canceled.
The last substantial renovations to the jail at 85 Hammond St. were in 1988, with a $5 million voter-approved bond. The facility is licensed by the Maine Department of Corrections to hold up to 157 inmates.
Public outcry killed a proposed eight-story jail in downtown Bangor in 2020.
The county started looking for property in late 2023 and early 2024. It needs 15 to 20 acres, and four potential locations have fallen through in part because of the demand for housing, Adkins said last year.