Passaic County Advances Plan for Former Jail Site in Paterson

Passaic County commissioners introduced an ordinance June 9 tied to the redevelopment of the former Passaic County Jail at 11 Marshall Street in downtown Paterson, advancing a lease and financing arrangement with the Passaic County Improvement Authority.

The action moves the county’s plan for the site forward, but it is not a construction announcement. The county described the ordinance as a lease step connected to financing redevelopment of the property.

A public-safety role downtown

County officials said the planned redevelopment would bring a renewed law-enforcement presence to downtown Paterson. They said that presence would allow county and local police departments to deploy resources more quickly and strategically.

The county’s rationale comes as Paterson prepares for a summer public-safety strategy focused on major city events. The New Jersey Office of the Attorney General has described the city’s 2026 planning around those events, providing broader context for the county’s stated interest in placing law-enforcement activity at the Marshall Street site.

The county has not said that new police staffing has already been added as part of the redevelopment plan. The public-safety benefit described by officials is a purpose of the proposed renewed presence, not a report that the new facility is operating.

Part of a downtown strategy

Passaic County said the Marshall Street project is also part of a broader civic and economic strategy for downtown Paterson. Officials said the location is intended to place government services in an area that is walkable and accessible by transit.

That approach could affect the downtown civic landscape by maintaining or adding public-sector activity near businesses and other services. The county also said the project is intended to support nearby businesses, linking the redevelopment to the area’s broader economic activity rather than treating the former jail property as an isolated site.

For Paterson, the location matters because the former jail property sits at 11 Marshall Street in the city’s downtown. A public facility there could influence how residents, employees and visitors move through the area, while the county’s stated law-enforcement goal could shape how police resources are positioned in and around downtown.

What the ordinance does—and what remains ahead

The June 9 action involves the Passaic County Board of County Commissioners and the Passaic County Improvement Authority. The ordinance approves a lease agreement between those public entities as part of the financing structure for redevelopment.

The county announcement does not state the project’s total redevelopment cost, construction start date, completion date or final facility size. Those details will matter in determining the project’s scale, its schedule and when residents could see a physical change at the site.

For now, the confirmed development is the county’s move to advance the lease and financing arrangement. The former jail site remains a planned redevelopment location, and the next practical milestones will be tied to the financing, any additional public approvals and eventual construction activity.