Mental health site to free up jail space
Bexar County is using COVID relief money to acquire center, add 130 treatment beds
Bexar County is set to acquire its leased residential mental health treatment center, part of its plan to expand the facility by 130 beds for mentally ill jail inmates.
The aim is to reduce crowding at the Bexar County jail.
County Commissioners on Tuesday approved purchasing the nearly 11-acre site of the county-run Dual Diagnosis Residential Treatment Facility on Applewhite Road, potentially through the use of eminent domain. The purchase is expected to cost more than $3 million.
“This is something we’ve been working on for a while, so it’s something that needs to get done so that we can move forward with the money that we already allocated so we can improve Applewhite and mental health and substance abuse,” said Precinct 1 Commissioner Rebeca Clay-flores, who represents South Bexar County, where the facility is located.
Commissioners set aside $25 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act dollars last year to renovate and expand the Dual Diagnosis Residential Treatment Facility, which provides mental health and substance abuse treatment for people on probation. It also houses inmates who have been deemed incompetent to stand trial and who need mental health treatment before their court cases can proceed.
Most of this federal COVID relief money — $18 million — will pay for the construction of a 39,000-square foot, 130-bed residential building. Currently, the facility has 300 beds. The state of Texas leases the property for nearly $32,000 a month, though Bexar County oversees the facility.
“That allows diversion from the existing Bexar County jail
and gets them out of sheriff supervision,” county Facilities Management Director Dan Curry said.
Another $4 million will be used to renovate the facility’s existing three buildings, with $3 million set aside to acquire the Applewhite Road property.
However, the purchase price will be slightly higher than $3 million, Curry told commissioners Tuesday.
The county is still in negotiations with the property owners — Marline Carter Lawson, of San Antonio, and her brother Paul B. Carter, according to county spokesperson Monica Trevinoortega.
Bexar County officials expect to award a construction contract by November, with the new residential facility finished by May 2025, she said.
“We’re trying to accelerate the delivery of this project, not only to comply with the requirements of the use of ARPA funds, but because we know there’s a real constraint on jail beds right now,” Curry said.
The Bexar County Adult Detention Center, usually called the Bexar County jail, can hold about 5,000 inmates, but it has long struggled with overcrowding.
In early April, commissioners approved a pilot program to provide mental health treatment to inmates judged incompetent to stand trial. At the time, county officials said about 300 inmates were in need of competency restoration services. The pilot will help 120 people.
The county also is considering converting the former San Antonio State Hospital campus to a county psychiatric facility.
“That allows diversion from the existing Bexar County Jail .... ”
Dan Curry, facilities director