What the New Pittsylvania County Jail Will Be — Location, Timeline, and What Will Change for Families
Planning ahead for visits, mail, or just trying to understand what's coming? Here's what the county has shared about the site, timeline, and what the new building is meant to fix.
Pittsylvania County has already purchased the land for the new jail: 32.26 acres at 11965 U.S. Highway 29, south of the Town of Chatham. The county closed on the property in August 2023, and the purchase price was $500,000.
Trying to picture where that is? The site sits across U.S. 29 from The Pittsylvania Pet Center. It's also near the Pittsylvania Career and Technical Center and Chatham Middle School - helpful landmarks if you're mapping the area or explaining the location to someone else.
The county's preliminary timeline puts construction starting in August 2026, with completion expected in November 2027. For families, those dates mark the rough window when major changes - like moving into a new building - could happen.
Before construction can start, the project must clear multiple state-level hurdles: review by several state agencies, approval from the General Assembly, and sign-off from the Governor. If the Governor approves, the state will reimburse 25% of the project's cost under Virginia Code § 53.1-80 - a factor that can shape how quickly the county moves forward.
Note: The construction schedule depends on state approvals, including the General Assembly and the Governor. If those steps take longer than expected, the start and finish dates can shift.
The new facility is designed for 146 beds, with room to expand to 202. That gives you a sense of the planned size now and how much it could grow later.
The county describes the new jail as a
Even with that campus-like exterior, the facility will have the security features you'd expect: fences, razor wire, and fencing over outdoor recreation areas. The county says those features will be set back several hundred feet from U.S. Route 29 and won't be visible from the highway. Driving past on 29, you may not realize you're passing a jail site.
Part of the push for a new building comes down to conditions in the current county jail. The county says the existing heating and cooling systems are outdated, and there's no space for rehabilitation or educational programs. For families, this points to what the new project aims to change: modern building systems and room for programs that can support people while they're incarcerated.
Stay Informed
- ✓ Track the project location details: 11965 U.S. Highway 29, south of Chatham (32.26 acres purchased; closed in August 2023).
- ✓ Keep the preliminary construction window in mind (August 2026 start; November 2027 completion), but treat it as a working estimate.
- ✓ Watch for updates on required approvals through state agencies, the General Assembly, and the Governor - those steps can change the timeline.
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