PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — The Hampton Roads Regional Jail board has voted to sell the facility to the city of Portsmouth.
According to Portsmouth Vice Mayor Lisa Lucas Burke, who is vice-chairwoman of the Hampton Roads Regional Jail Authority, said in a statement that “HRRJ passed a resolution that allowed member jurisdictions to take the options back to their councils. After all member jurisdictions pass the resolution at their council meetings, Portsmouth will be given a contract with a purchase price agreed upon by the Authority. The deal should be sealed for Portsmouth to proceed by next month, about mid-May.”
The HRRJ served not only the City of Portsmouth, but it also served Chesapeake, Norfolk, Hampton and Newport News. It’s had a controversial history, with the Department of Justice finding after a multi-year investigation that the jail violated inmates’ basic constitutional rights and protections under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The jail shut its doors April 1, though there had not been any inmates in it for more than a week prior to that. The board voted unanimously back in October to shut it down after authorities said there were not enough inmates to keep it going.
Kelly Curry, executive assistant for HRRJ, told 10 On Your Side that board members paid off a roughly $14.4 million bond.
The Authority is expected to stay in place for about two years.
Earlier this month, a spokesperson for the city told 10 On Your Side when asked whether the city was buying the building that they were still in negotiations and could not release more details.
However, a few days later, it was disclosed that there is a plan to buy the shuttered HRRJ.
“I’m not at liberty to disclose all of the details as it relates to the purchase,” said Portsmouth Mayor Shannon Glover.
The jail opened back in 1998 with the intent to house inmates from Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk and Portsmouth. Chesapeake began using the facility in 2016.
