
Want to buy a jail, never used? - mountaineer
http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2014/06/want_to_buy_a_jail_never_used.html
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TrainedMonkey
Too bad number of beds is only 525, that is 10 too short to fit the entire
congress.

Otherwise this would be a great facility to use use when they can't agree on a
budget deal.

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jamestomasino
I don't think folks would be opposed to overpopulation in that prison

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lostlogin
According to this they would need a few beds removed to meet the average found
in a 2011 report from Ohio stating 31% overcrowding.
[http://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/Boards/Sentencing/resources...](http://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/Boards/Sentencing/resources/Publications/MonitoringReport2011.pdf)

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anigbrowl
_The county’s request for interest in Wapato Jail – the latest development in
the years-long search for ways to unload the never-used 168,420-square-foot
facility – went up May 2 and closes at 2 p.m. Wednesday._

Why do news outlets never report these things until the time period has almost
expired? Not that I had any ideas I wanted to submit, but it seems like the
media has a deliberate policy of holding back news stories until a deadline
has almost arrived in order to manufacture a sense of urgency about the
story.l I see this all the time with requests for comment on public policy and
suchlike - mainstream news outlets don't bother to mention it to the public
until the time is almost expired, creating the impression that bureaucrats
were trying it sneak it past the public.

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tedunangst
Selection bias? I've certainly seen plenty of similar stories published closer
to the origination date. I'd say it just sits in the slow news day pile until
an opening arrives, but starts getting a priority boost as it's about to
expire.

I suspect most of the actually interested parties aren't just finding out
about this now.

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JDDunn9
Who wants to chip in for a zombie apocalypse shelter?

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michaelmior
My first thought too! Especially after the last season of The Walking Dead.

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edandersen
Could be an economical replacement for open plan offices.

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dlevine
Or "closed plan" offices.

"You get your own office (complete with a bed and a toilet), but we decide
when you can leave."

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gonzo
you can leave when the project is done.

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dlevine
Your "office" door is tied to a Github issue, and when it is closed, your door
opens :-)

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jacquesm
Milestones would be so much more effective.

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csbrooks
Photos of the keys? Bad idea.

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pbhjpbhj
Indeed, that security console would probably handsomely repay a thief for
getting those keys cut from the photo.

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outside1234
Sounds like a great datacenter :)

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fiatmoney
I was actually thinking this; then I thought about cooling. Bet those cells
aren't exactly optimized for airflow.

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aaronblohowiak
They all have plumbing

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hypron
I wish I could buy this and turn it into a paintball/airsoft arena.

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dkuntz2
Laser tag. All of the fun, none of the pain. Also 500% more nerdy.

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laxatives
None of the pain, half of the fun. As the cost of losing decreases, apathy
greatly increases.

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Theodores
I spent a couple of terms at university in a hall of residence that was based
on the design for a Swedish prison. This could have been an 'urban myth'
however the limited access to the building (one door, no fire escapes), the
layout and the room dimensions made that myth believable. I actually had some
great times there, it was where I met my best friends and where I studied
hardest.

We did not have toilets in our rooms but we did have wash-basins. The windows
did not have bars on them and the doors were normal doors with handles on the
insides. The grey lino flooring and the grey brick walls could have been
'prison', however, with a few personal touches, e.g. posters on walls, some
colourful rug on the floor all was fine. No students committed suicide on our
block or had to be put on Prozac.

It would be very interesting to see this prison converted to some type of
college/university facility. Clearly some courses cost more than others to
teach, however, I would be very much surprised if it cost more to teach than
to imprison.

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rmason
Then there's the unfinished jail in downtown Detroit:

[http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/story/22491752/leduff-wayne-
co-m...](http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/story/22491752/leduff-wayne-co-may-tear-
down-new-jail-sell-land-to-dan-gilbert)

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briandh
There is also a large, mostly-unused prison in rural Illinois:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomson_Correctional_Center](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomson_Correctional_Center)

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koalaman
you could make this a prison experience hotel kind of thing.

It would be popular with bachelor parties, etc. People love this kind of
thing.

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the_watcher
Yea, there's a service that will kidnap and "torture" you (the torture is more
of making you really uncomfortable than actually hurting you).

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trhway
very strange feeling looking at it without people - the lack of purpose [in
the big sense] of such buildings/spaces is immediately noticeable. I mean it
isn't that something will be built, learnt, stored or housed there to keep
away from elements. Instead the primary purpose of prison/jail buildings is to
waste huge amount of resources, human and material. (not advocating for
complete prison abolishment today as it is still some years before we can do
something like "house arrest" or other [may be selective] rights limitation
for convicts. It is just sad that we still can't produce a practical
alternative to prison/jail which will move our society forward instead of
backward)

How about some "Uber for law violators". Some technical means of keeping a
convict in the society, just taking away his ability to do any harm - one of
the 2 goals of locking up - and his ability to enjoy the life or some parts of
it - the other goal of locking up which satisfies societal need for justice.

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jpatokal
_" the county is able to rent it out, as long as it doesn’t make money off the
deal"_

Can somebody explain the logic here? I can see why you wouldn't want to rent
out an operational jail at a profit, but what's wrong with making a "profit"
(read: tiny dent in the huge losses incurred in building the damn thing) if
it's sitting there empty and unused?

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Fomite
I presume its tied to the tax-exempt status of the bonds that funded it,
preventing the county from building a tax exempt jail and then, for example,
leasing it to a private prison company.

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psychometry
We've still yet to prosecute those responsible for the subprime mortgage
crisis...

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JeffreyKaine
I'm thinking that this could be the perfect live in incubator.

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JeffreyKaine
Though, it'll need a paint job.

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JoeAltmaier
Scout camp! The slough and wetlands are ideal. Plenty of camping and dining
facilities. Open ground for sports and events.

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michaelmior
I'm curious where the $300,000/year in maintenance comes from.

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JoeAltmaier
Painting, roofing, broken windows, fence. Vandalism and weather.

