Monroe County to spend $10 million for Fullerton Pike land as new jail site.

The 87.13 acres of land is just east of Ind. 37 on the north side of Fullerton Pike. It is bounded on the east by a stone quarry, on the north by ravines, on the south by Fullerton Pike and on the west by the state highway. The Bill C. Brown Revocable Trust owns the land, which is about five miles from the current jail.

All three county commissioners voted Wednesday to approve a $10 million purchase agreement for the land. The sale is contingent on an engineering site review, an environmental study, rezoning by the city and approval from the county council to spend the money.

County attorney Jeff Cockerill proposed a timeline for the new jail: rezoning, land studies and property acquisition this year, design and bid letting in 2023 and construction starting in 2024 and completed in 2025.

Big decisions that remain: how big and what kind of correctional facility to build; whether a juvenile detention center will be included; where the courts will be located; and the future of the Zietlow Justice Center at Seventh Street and College Avenue in downtown Bloomington.