Demolition Of Baltimore City Detention Center Is Complete

BALTIMORE, MD — A former jail in Baltimore has been leveled and will make way for a therapeutic treatment center downtown, state officials said Tuesday. Demolition at the Baltimore City Detention Center began in 2019.

“As demolition comes to a close, we are bringing an end to the long, checkered history of the former jail, and we are making way for the transformative facility that will be built in its place,” Gov. Larry Hogan said in a statement.

A therapeutic treatment center will be built in place of the jail, which spanned an 8-acre campus off Eager Street. It will provide mental health services, substance abuse treatment and reentry programming and planning for up to 1,400 people, according to a statement from the governor's office.

“What was once a source of embarrassment for the city and for our state will instead become a beacon of hope for those struggling with addiction to get the help they need to heal, to recover, and to turn their lives around," Hogan said.

When the governor closed the jail in 2015, he declared it "a black eye on our state" and the "worst prison in America," noting it was the only city detention center run by the state government.

Hogan said there had been calls for years to shut down the facility, which posed challenges to safety on multiple levels. The roof was crumbling, and there were ongoing flooding and sewage issues. Some structures were built before the Civil War and predated standards for penal facilities.

The Maryland Board of Public Works approved a $27.5 million contract for the project in June 2019, which involved demolition of 39 buildings.

Related: Demolition Begins At 'One Of The Worst Prisons In America'