A new Penobscot County Jail could hold nearly twice as many inmates as the existing building and provide space for medical and mental health services, early plans for the facility show.
They also show that the jail would be built in Hampden — though a county-wide vote is still required to move it out of Bangor.
The documents, which include both floor and site plans, were quietly released on the Penobscot County website within the last week and have not been discussed in public meetings. It’s unclear what date the plans were published online, but the plans themselves are dated Jan. 26 and Jan. 30, respectively.
The facility will hold around 275 inmates, County Commissioner Dan Tremble said Thursday, but he didn’t know the exact number. Previous estimates have ranged from 250 to 350 people, while the current facility holds 157 inmates.
Commission Chair Andre Cushing was not available Thursday for comment.
The plans provide the first glimpse at what a new jail in Penobscot County could look like, and come six years after the last renderings were shared. Key details about the proposed facility, such as how much it would cost and when a vote to move the jail out of Bangor, were not included in the plans.
Construction costs between $60 million and $80 million have been discussed, Tremble said, who added more information would be shared in the coming months.
Penobscot County has an aging jail with high maintenance costs and limited space, requiring the county to board out roughly 60 inmates per day. The county spent $2.1 million boarding inmates in 2026.
A new jail would lower the county’s yearly budget by removing costs for boarding out inmates and deferred maintenance for a facility constructed in the 1800s, but would require a bond to build.
Penobscot County spent more than $2 million of reserve funds in 2023 to supplement the underbudgeted facility, according to a new audit.
The jail has cost the county between $2.5 and $3 million in reserve funds every year, creating a roughly $7 million deficit, former County Administrator Scott Adkins estimated.
A date for when the bond or move would be on the ballot has not been set, but Tremble said he thought “everybody would like to see it on the ballot this November.”
The new designs show a safer facility for inmates and correction officers and a more efficient space that would save the county money after it’s built, Tremble said.
But it will be up to voters to decide whether the jail should be funded and moved to Hampden, he said.
“It’s a great design. Whether or not the voters will think that’s what we should be doing, I think it is. I think we need to [build it],” Tremble said.
The last plans released in 2020 showed an eight-story jail in Bangor, while these designs feature a two-story building with a footprint of roughly 92,000 square feet. The building would be set off I-95 and include 86 parking spaces and an area for a possible building expansion, according to the documents completed by Hailey Ward and DCCM, a Texas-based engineering consultant.
County commissioners Tremble, Cushing and Dave Marshall entered into a contract to buy property in Hampden at the Ammo Industrial Park in July of 2025.
The county is still working with Hampden to build the facility there, Tremble said.
The Hampden Town Council approved a proposed agreement with the county in January that would give the town a tax break if the jail were built in the industrial park.
The expansion shown in the documents would be the sheriff’s office eventually moving to the site, but Tremble said that isn’t being decided on soon.
“I think at some point down the road, if we were ever able to, it might make sense to locate the sheriff’s office there as well, but that’s not part of what’s being planned right now,” Tremble said.
Areas for mental health, medical care and meetings with attorneys — three things Sheriff Troy Morton has been vocal about the current facility not having space for all inmates to use — are included in the floor plans.
Transporting inmates for health care and mental health programming has inflated the jail’s budget, Morton said during the county’s 2026 budget process.
Morton did not respond to a request for comment.
County residents opposed to building a new jail have said more diversion programs that referred criminals to case managers instead of going to jail are needed, and building a new jail would not incentivize county officials to create and expand these programs.
The county offers diversion programs and added an online program in January. There are 34 people enrolled in the county’s diversion programs, according to the sheriff’s office.
Those who want to see more programs may not understand who is currently housed in the jail and the ongoing need for a new facility, Tremble said.
“I’m not sure they really understand how bad the situation is or what the type of inmate we have in the jail today is. I think their argument is that we should be doing more alternatives. I think that’s currently being done, but there’s a certain population that just has to be in a correctional facility,” Tremble said.
