Tour a piece of Macomb County Jail history before it's gone

It has been 60 to 70 years since some of the buildings at the Macomb County Jail complex went up.

Soon, some of the oldest parts of the complex in Mount Clemens, including one dating to 1954, will be coming down as work starts on a new $228 million Central Intake and Assessment Center.

The public is invited to take a tour of a part of the jail complex that is set to be demolished beginning this summer.

The county will offer tours of the original maximum security area May 15 and May 16 at the jail complex at Elizabeth Road and North Groesbeck Highway, an area the county says was built in the 1960s and resembles Alcatraz . That's the joint on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay that once was a maximum security federal prison.

"The Macomb County Jail holds a unique place in our county's history," County Executive Mark Hackel said in a news release Monday. "As we say goodbye to this iconic structure, we must also look forward to the opportunities that lie ahead with the new Central Intake and Assessment Center. This facility will play a vital role in addressing the needs of our community and improving the safety and overall well-being of our residents."

Tours of the closed-down section will be from noon to 6 p.m. both days on the hour, Sheriff Anthony Wickersham said. He said photos will be permitted of the maximum security area, which had individual cells where those housed were locked down 23 hours a day. The area hasn't been used in about four years, Wickersham said.

Officials said they will offer tours of the D block area in the future. D block, dormitory-type cells with no air conditioning units that reporters toured in 2019, may not be demolished until the end of the year as it is currently housing some of those who are jailed, Hackel said.

According to a video last month on the sheriff's office Facebook page about the history of the jail, the D block originally was 12 cells that could sleep as many as 12 people, sharing one bathroom and shower area.

Reservations are required for the tours. Interested parties, including large groups, such as schools or clubs, can schedule a tour by calling the training division at 586-307-9311. Stairs are required for access to the west entrance of the facility.

The new Central Intake and Assessment Center is to offer services for those with mental health and substance abuse issues. County officials hope it will help address the decades-long gap in mental health care that began when state facilities were decommissioned.

The center is to have more beds for inmates with medical and mental health issues. Last year , when Hackel announced the proposal, he said the county could be in a position to hand off someone committed to a state prison with an assessment and understanding of their substance abuse or mental health issues, thanks to the new center.

According to the county, about 78,000 square feet of the existing jail, including the annex, maximum security and rehabilitation area, will be demolished and cleared starting in the next month or two. The tall tower, which opened in 1987 and has 900 beds, is the most visible section of the jail complex and will remain.

Construction on the new center is set to be completed by 2027.

A new or updated jail has been discussed for years by county officials, with numerous Band-Aid fixes along the way to various sections.

Plans for a new jail were put on hold in April 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Hackel and Wickersham decided not to ask voters in August 2020 to vote on a new countywide millage to fund a new lockup.

The new center will be built with federal, state and county funding. No tax increases are expected to the fund the project.

The new center will be about 177,000 square feet, with space for a public lobby, secure passage, staff support, intake and release, court intake housing, medical and mental health, community corrections and general population housing, according to the county .

It's to have 278 beds, some standard and some similar to hospital beds, with medical, mental health and detox treatment wings. There will centralized intake and universal assessment for medical, mental health and pretrial services at booking. There also will be front-end diversion when appropriate through the assessment center, according to the county .

There will be 1,178 beds at the jail complex, in total, once the project is complete.

Contact Christina Hall: chall@freepress.com. Follow her on X: @challreporter.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Tour a piece of Macomb County Jail history before it's gone