Juvenile Justice Center at 18th and Harney - 8 stories

[Cermak]

It's looking more and more like the building is just to small. Unbelievable.

[Louie]

I know that any building like this has tons of red tape around getting the public funding in place in the beginning. I can't recall, but when this was scaled back from 10 stories to 8, was it strictly a funding issue?

[nativeomahan]

I wish I could say this predicament couldn’t have been predicted. But it was, by multiple officials. I don’t know how much lipstick will need to be plastered onto this pig to make it attractive and functional for the purposes for which it was intended. I heard on the TV news yesterday that more money has been plowed into the juvenile detention centers here in Omaha than was spent to construct the 1st National Bank tower. I’m still trying to process that in my head.

[Coyote]

Number of Douglas County youth in detention remains higher than board of commissioners want



In August the Douglas County Board voted to delaymoving juvenile detention to the new Youth and Family Support Center downtown. At the time, county commissioners expressed concerns about over-crowding at the new, 64-bed facility. Data presented to the Justice Center Development Corporation by Deputy County Administrator Kim Hawekotte on Thursday shows the population in the current youth facility ranged between 65 and 85 residents since January.

[Louie]

This has been a truly embarrassing management of a project.

[Coyote]

New Douglas County youth and family center ready,
but current center population preventing transition



The new Youth and Family Support Center in downtown Omaha is Douglas County's largest completed construction project, but it is still waiting for the transfer of youth from the current justice center off 42nd and Center. A project manager at Burlington Capital says the new center was completed on time and under budget by about $5.7 million. That money will now be saved for future projects involving the justice center.

[nativeomahan]

Until such time as the number of juveniles in out of home placement here in Douglas County drops sufficiently for the required 6 consecutive months as established by the county board of commissioners (which I doubt will ever happen), maybe the county could temporarily repurpose the space into housing for the homeless, or for those suffering from mental illness who pose a threat to themselves or the public at large?
Or, maybe just offer the space up as an austere Air BnB…

[Coyote]

Douglas County Sheriff calls on state to help with juvenile crime



The Douglas County Sheriff is asking for help from the state legislature to address juvenile justice reform. This comes after what he says has been a particularly challenging few weeks for law enforcement. “I’m afraid our luck is going to run out,” said Sheriff Aaron Hanson. “We have averted tragedy repeatedly over the last few weeks and months.” Douglas County officials are working out what to do about the number of minors getting in trouble with the law. Just last week, the county commission approved a study to see what it would take to keep the current youth center open along with the new 64-bed juvenile justice center which was built to replace it.

[Cermak]

Unbelievable that they just open a new building and it's already to small. This is a head scratcher.

[Athomsfere]

Unbelievable that they just open a new building and it's already to small. This is a head scratcher.

Bean counters and public perception

[thenewguy]

Unbelievable that they just open a new building and it's already to small. This is a head scratcher.

not really unbelievable, if they would have just checked in here with us first ;)

I remember discussions stating 12 stories may even be too short, and they shrunk it down anyway. Dumb asse s.

[NEDodger]

Idiots who were too optimistic that they could turn around violent kids.

[omahacacher]

Unbelievable that they just open a new building and it's already to small. This is a head scratcher.

not really unbelievable, if they would have just checked in here with us first ;)

I remember discussions stating 12 stories may even be too short, and they shrunk it down anyway. Dumb asse s.

Umm. No.

The original height for the tower was initially 10 stories, when the site one block to the west was being considered. That lot had a smaller footprint for the tower, thus the taller tower. Once that site was ruled out and the current site was selected with its larger footprint, the height was lowered to 8 stories. The square footage for both towers would have been roughly the same.

And your point alludes to the idea that the lowering of the tower is the problem with the space for the detainees. This is wrong. The 8 story tower houses the county attorney, public defender, court administration and juvenile clerk offices as well as ample conference rooms. The tower also houses 6 courtrooms, with extra space for 2 additional courtrooms. The tower has a lot of space for future expansion of courtrooms and staffing for the various offices. Juvenile probation is housed in the former MUD headquarters.

The detainees are to be housed in the connected detention facility building to the south of the tower, and the plans for that building originally allowed for space for 84 juveniles, but that building's occupancy was lowered to 64, with the plan being that the county would develop programs that allow the release of less serious offenders.

[Doctor Fate]

Unbelievable that they just open a new building and it's already to small. This is a head scratcher.

not really unbelievable, if they would have just checked in here with us first ;)

I remember discussions stating 12 stories may even be too short, and they shrunk it down anyway. Dumb asse s.

Umm. No.

The original height for the tower was initially 10 stories, when the site one block to the west was being considered. That lot had a smaller footprint for the tower, thus the taller tower. Once that site was ruled out and the current site was selected with its larger footprint, the height was lowered to 8 stories. The square footage for both towers would have been roughly the same.

And your point alludes to the idea that the lowering of the tower is the problem with the space for the detainees. This is wrong. The 8 story tower houses the county attorney, public defender, court administration and juvenile clerk offices as well as ample conference rooms. The tower also houses 6 courtrooms, with extra space for 2 additional courtrooms. The tower has a lot of space for future expansion of courtrooms and staffing for the various offices. Juvenile probation is housed in the former MUD headquarters.

The detainees are to be housed in the connected detention facility building to the south of the tower, and the plans for that building originally allowed for space for 84 juveniles, but that building's occupancy was lowered to 64, with the plan being that the county would develop programs that allow the release of less serious offenders.

The 2nd proposal by Cavanaugh was for a 12 story tower and a renovation of existing juvenile detention center to make it more like a high school.

https://www.omaha.com/news/metro/county ... 6d65e.html

[GenX]

Unbelievable that they just open a new building and it's already to small. This is a head scratcher.

not really unbelievable, if they would have just checked in here with us first ;)

I remember discussions stating 12 stories may even be too short, and they shrunk it down anyway. Dumb asse s.

Umm. No.

The original height for the tower was initially 10 stories, when the site one block to the west was being considered. That lot had a smaller footprint for the tower, thus the taller tower. Once that site was ruled out and the current site was selected with its larger footprint, the height was lowered to 8 stories. The square footage for both towers would have been roughly the same.

And your point alludes to the idea that the lowering of the tower is the problem with the space for the detainees. This is wrong. The 8 story tower houses the county attorney, public defender, court administration and juvenile clerk offices as well as ample conference rooms. The tower also houses 6 courtrooms, with extra space for 2 additional courtrooms. The tower has a lot of space for future expansion of courtrooms and staffing for the various offices. Juvenile probation is housed in the former MUD headquarters.

The detainees are to be housed in the connected detention facility building to the south of the tower, and the plans for that building originally allowed for space for 84 juveniles, but that building's occupancy was lowered to 64, with the plan being that the county would develop programs that allow the release of less serious offenders.

The 2nd proposal by Cavanaugh was for a 12 story tower and a renovation of existing juvenile detention center to make it more like a high school.

https://www.omaha.com/news/metro/county ... 6d65e.html

And being that the height was changed mid-construction, after the foundation was poured suggests they still have the foundational support to add the extra floors.

[thenewguy]

Unbelievable that they just open a new building and it's already to small. This is a head scratcher.

not really unbelievable, if they would have just checked in here with us first ;)

I remember discussions stating 12 stories may even be too short, and they shrunk it down anyway. Dumb asse s.

Umm. No.

The original height for the tower was initially 10 stories, when the site one block to the west was being considered. That lot had a smaller footprint for the tower, thus the taller tower. Once that site was ruled out and the current site was selected with its larger footprint, the height was lowered to 8 stories. The square footage for both towers would have been roughly the same.

And your point alludes to the idea that the lowering of the tower is the problem with the space for the detainees. This is wrong. The 8 story tower houses the county attorney, public defender, court administration and juvenile clerk offices as well as ample conference rooms. The tower also houses 6 courtrooms, with extra space for 2 additional courtrooms. The tower has a lot of space for future expansion of courtrooms and staffing for the various offices. Juvenile probation is housed in the former MUD headquarters.

The detainees are to be housed in the connected detention facility building to the south of the tower, and the plans for that building originally allowed for space for 84 juveniles, but that building's occupancy was lowered to 64, with the plan being that the county would develop programs that allow the release of less serious offenders.

The 2nd proposal by Cavanaugh was for a 12 story tower and a renovation of existing juvenile detention center to make it more like a high school.

https://www.omaha.com/news/metro/county ... 6d65e.html

Thank you, doctor fate.

Omahacacher: chill. We were talking about how much room they would need to help meet the demands of the future. Who cares if the square footage is the same? Many suspected they would need more, which is now coming to fruition. The point I was making is that it didn't seem like it was enough space, even with the original proposal. They cut it down, and now there's an even larger problem that could have been avoided.

[PotatoeEatsFish]

They really scaled back the building and now they’re whining that the courthouse and detention center don’t have enough room.
It’s so funny to me.

[ChadJK]

What is the difference between...

The Nebraska Correctional Youth Facility off Abbott Drive by the airport.
The Douglas County Youth Center at 42nd & Poppleton.
The Juvenile Justice Center at 18th & Harney.

[MrsSpr0ut]

What is the difference between...

The Nebraska Correctional Youth Facility off Abbott Drive by the airport.
The Douglas County Youth Center at 42nd & Poppleton.
The Juvenile Justice Center at 18th & Harney.

NE Correctional Youth Facility - state prison for juveniles
DC Youth Center - current (old) county jail facility for juveniles
Juvenile Justice Center - juvenile courtrooms and office space, plus new county jail facility for juveniles. The courtroom and admin stuff is in use; the new jail facility isn't yet in use because the old facility is over capacity and the new space has fewer beds. See above for further discussion.

[Lillian Bean]

Still empty a year later, Omaha’s new $27M juvenile jail might never open as planned: https://flatwaterfreepress.org/still-em ... s-planned/

[NEDodger]

What a joke.

[iamjacobm]

Obviously not the height of professionalism, it appears the Omaha Police Union is s#itposting about this now (which to be fair it is looking more and more like a waste of public dollars).

[mcarch]

This is the example of building smaller than what is actually is needed... but I get trash talked when I speak about the Library saying I don't know what I'm talking about. Trust me, I do... I've spent years of my life seeing history repeat itself, from private local companies to the same exact thing to public funds do the same. But no one in this city learns because its just swept under the rug as we tell ourselves, well, at least it was built... then we live with a building that is under-utilized, out of place, too expensive to demolish to make room for something better, and then if we would have waited and done it right, could have something totally awesome.

But we have too many big heads in this city needing their own ideas and those ideas fade as banks, the economy, and their push evaporate, so we get a sliver of what could have been, instead of partnering with each other and making something bigger and better. That's when we get these dotted half developments across the city that never seem to take off.

[OmahaRedWing]

Did I see that this still hasn't opened?

[GenX]

Did I see that this still hasn't opened?

So much justice is going on in this building, the likes of which nobody has ever seen…

[Brad]

Did I see that this still hasn't opened?

I believe parts of it are in use, but the jail or housing or whatever the call it is the part not being used. I think some of the office and courtroom space is in use.

[iamjacobm]

Still waiting. https://www.wowt.com/2026/05/06/27m-fac ... -capacity/

The Douglas County Youth and Family Support Center at 17th and Harney streets cost $27 million. The facility was proposed in 2018 and completed nearly two years ago, but has never been occupied.

“The main reason is because the amount of youth being detained has been larger than the actual capacity in the newer facility,” said Roger Garcia, Douglas County commissioner for District 1.

The new facility can hold a maximum of 64 juveniles. Patrick Dempsey, president of the Omaha Police Officer’s Association, said the average daily population fluctuates between 80 and 90.

The building will continue to stay vacant unless juvenile numbers can average in the 50s or lower for at least six months, Garcia said.

The building costs Douglas County taxpayers about $20,000 a month to maintain.

[nebugeater]

It may be too simple, but why are they not using the full capacity and sending the overflow elsewhere at a cost rather than sending all needs elsewhere for a cost

[thenewguy]

It may be too simple, but why are they not using the full capacity and sending the overflow elsewhere at a cost rather than sending all needs elsewhere for a cost

if the right person were in tasked at making the decision, it could be done with ease. It boggles my mind that it is an 'all or none' scenario at all.

[Garrett]

It may be too simple, but why are they not using the full capacity and sending the overflow elsewhere at a cost rather than sending all needs elsewhere for a cost

Staffing, I imagine.

[nativeomahan]

This structure deserves a place in the historic annals of government inefficiency and ineptitude.

[Omaha Cowboy]

This structure deserves a place in the historic annals of government inefficiency and ineptitude.

And the original plan was for a 10 story building (there was talk of even 12), which months later, was scaled back to 8; likely diminishing capacity as well..

The building has been and currently is, an utter failure of purpose…

Ciao..LiO…Peace

[nebugeater]

It may be too simple, but why are they not using the full capacity and sending the overflow elsewhere at a cost rather than sending all needs elsewhere for a cost

Staffing, I imagine.

I don't buy that angle.

[Garrett]

It may be too simple, but why are they not using the full capacity and sending the overflow elsewhere at a cost rather than sending all needs elsewhere for a cost

Staffing, I imagine.

I don't buy that angle.

I'm sure you'd need x number of security guards at both locations, administrative staff, maintenance staff, food service staff etc. to the point where it's just cheaper to spend $20k per month to not use it than to have two facilities.

[Mapguy]

I find it ironic that the whole reason they under-sized this facility was to get 5 million from the Sherwood foundation----which recinded their gift because the facility could never open.

This is what happens when we let billionaire funded foundations dictate policy decisions.

[Linkin5]

This is either extreme incompetence or outright fraud by Douglas county officials. Were they aware that if the number of juveniles exceeded capacity they would not be able to use the building at all? How did they not forecast for population increases and more potential detainees? How did they not have a plan in place for overflow? This entire thing makes zero sense.

[Cermak]

What a waste of taxpayers money, someone messed up. I remember it was originally supposed to be a bigger building then it got smaller, now it’s useless.

[Louie]

What a waste of taxpayers money, someone messed up. I remember it was originally supposed to be a bigger building then it got smaller, now it’s useless.

Yeah, it started as a 10 story building and then they shaved the top two floors.

[NEDodger]

What a waste of taxpayers money, someone messed up. I remember it was originally supposed to be a bigger building then it got smaller, now it’s useless.

Yeah, it started as a 10 story building and then they shaved the top two floors.

In the absence of me having any architectural or engineering training….is there any way to add two additional stories (similar to what’s happening to The Duo) to actually make this, you know, usable?

[Brad]

The DUO already had those two floors, they were just for mechanical. So they weren't really adding much structurally.

Its also not just not can the building hold the weight of two more floors. Do they have enough elevator capacity for two more floors, Are the emergency stair wells big enough for 2 more floors. How do they get power, water and sewer to two more floors. What about all the HVAC equipment on the current roof? Does the building's fire sprinkler system have enough capacity to cover 2 more floors.

A little behind the scenes how they made a bunch of those issues work at the DUO... Offices require less elevators than apartments. Therefore they were able to eliminate 2 elevators in each tower, I believe they went from 6 elevators to 4 elevators in each tower. They were then able to use the two empty elevator shafts as mechanical chases to run the power, water, etc. One more tid bit, they did need to raise the remaining 8 elevators an additional floor to cover the new space.