Remember when Miami-Dade County planned a 2,000 bed expansion at TGK before backing away from it? Well, the expansion at the TGK campus is currently underway. What does that mean for Miami Springs and Virginia Gardens?
Based on the latest Miami-Dade County public records, including 2024 procurement contracts and Board of County Commissioners (BCC) meeting minutes, the county has not quietly changed its plans, and there is no long-term 2,000-bed expansion happening at the Turner Guilford Knight (TGK) Correctional Center site.
While a massive, multi-million-dollar expansion project is indeed underway adjacent to the TGK facility along the NW 36th/41st Street corridor, public records confirm that this construction is not for long-term housing capacity. The 2,000-bed expansion was officially relocated to a different site.
Here is a breakdown of what the latest public records reveal about the current jail expansion:
1. Where the “2,000 Beds” Report Originated
In early 2020, Miami-Dade County circulated an initial proposal to build a massive $393 million jail replacement complex on the site of the closed Training and Treatment Center (TTC), which sits immediately adjacent to TGK. That original blueprint included a 1,400-bed detention center and a 556-bed intake facility—totaling nearly 2,000 beds.
This proposal sparked immediate pushback from neighboring communities, including the City of Miami Springs and Virginia Gardens, who fiercely opposed placing a massive permanent inmate population expansion near a residential area and a major tourist thoroughfare.
2. The Current Project at TGK (Master Plan “Site 1”)
Following the community pushback, the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners adopted a “Revised Hybrid Plan.” This plan split the jail replacement into two separate projects in two different locations to keep the bulk of the long-term inmate population away from the TGK area.
The heavy construction currently happening at the TGK site is officially designated as Site 1 of the Master Plan Replacement Jail Project. According to Miami-Dade Legislative File #240836, adopted on June 18, 2024, the county awarded a $228.7 million design-build contract to OHLA Building, Inc. for this site.
Public records explicitly mandate that this facility will not house the 2,000 permanent beds. Instead, the TGK expansion is strictly for processing, administration, and judicial purposes. It features:
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A Central Intake and Release Center (IRC): A booking facility designed to be the central processing hub for the county. It is meant for short-term transitioning arrestees being processed in or bonding out, not long-term housing.
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Four Courtrooms: To handle first appearances and hearings on-site, heavily reducing the need to transport inmates downtown to the criminal courthouse.
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MDCR Headquarters: A permanent administrative office building for the Miami-Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation Department.
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Support Facilities: A centralized warehouse and a 500-vehicle parking garage.
During a June 2024 BCC committee meeting regarding the contract, MDCR Deputy Director Cara Tuzeo testified on the public record that the TGK site expansion is strictly for “transitional inmates” and processing.
3. Where Did the 2,000 Beds Go? (Master Plan “Site 2”)
Because the county still needs to replace the severely decaying, 1961-era Pre-Trial Detention Center in downtown Miami, the 2,000 beds were not canceled—they were moved further west to the Metro West Detention Center (MWDC) located at 13850 NW 41st Street.
This is designated as Site 2 of the Master Plan.
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The county is actively planning the design and construction of this massive 2,000-bed complex adjacent to the existing Metro West facility.
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During the aforementioned June 2024 committee meeting, county officials noted on the record that once the Site 2 expansion is complete, over 80% of Miami-Dade’s entire permanent inmate population will be consolidated at the Metro West campus, drastically reducing the long-term housing footprint near TGK.
Summary
The paper trail verifies that the county kept its word to the public. The large-scale construction visible at the TGK site is for the county’s new centralized processing center, courtrooms, and administrative headquarters. There is no permanent bed expansion happening at TGK; those 2,000 new long-term jail beds have been officially planned for the Metro West facility instead.
Central Intake and RELEASE Center
Zip code 33166 will be where nearly all Miami-Dade County’s arrestees are taken in, processed, and then RELEASED if they make bail. Let’s state that again. They get arrested for everything from DUI to theft to battery to burglary from all around the county. They are brought into our zip code (just down the street from VG and Miami Springs). And then they are released from this very facility.
Obviously, some will get picked up. Others will get a bus ride or Uber home. But there’s nothing to stop someone from walking out and making a left hand turn on NW 36th Street. It happens already.
As a community, we must stay vigilant and keep an eye on how the county handles this Central Intake and RELEASE Center.
