Kewaunee County will spend $25.6 million to replace Wisconsin’s oldest and smallest jail of its type. 

The 40,500-sf facility will include a jail with 58 beds, space to expand to 85 beds, a dispatch and 911 communications center, and offices for the sheriff’s department. It will be built on 20 acres of county-owned land next to the County Administration Center.  

IMEG is providing mechanical, electrical, technology, and security engineering design services as a subconsultant for Venture Architects.  

The county’s current 22-bed jail was built in 1968 and annual state inspections have found multiple code violations to the building’s structural integrity. Recently the capacity has been limited to 16 beds.  

The new facility will be paid for by bonding and money from the county’s general fund and debt service fund, along with federal American Rescue Plan Act funding for COVID-19 pandemic relief.