Maricopa County unveiled plans to renovate the interior of the Madison Street Jail, a 1980s-vintage facility in Downtown Phoenix that's been empty for more than a decade because it doesn't meet modern corrections standards. The county mulled two options, either tearing the building down or converting the interior into a modern office building, eventually opting for the latter.

Reid Spaulding, deputy county manger, says "the county struggled for years about what to do with this building. It's a great location, but it's no longer suitable for detention...the county is constantly looking for office space, and this location is ideally suited to the county attorney side of our operation."

The remodeling is slated for completion in 2019. Once done, the structure will provide about 230k SF that has the advantage of being near neighboring court facilities. The cost of the project will be $60M to $65M.