TERRE HAUTE, Ind – At Thursday night’s meeting of the Terre Haute City Council, members voted 6 to 3 in favor of rezoning over 22 acres at 500 W. Honey Creek Drive for a new Vigo County jail.

Council members Amy Auler, George Azar, Curtis DeBaun IV, Earl Elliott, Don Morris and Karrum Nasser voted in favor of the rezoning. Council members Martha Crossen, Neil Garrison and Todd Nation voted against the rezoning.

Several showed up to voice opinions about the new jail.

In the end it wasn’t up to the council to decide what kind of jail to build or where. Their vote on zoning was to decide if a jail was appropriate on land in the area it is proposed.

After the vote, Vigo Commissioners can move forward with purchasing the property and the move forward on construction of the proposed 140,000 square foot, 501-bed jail.  The estimated cost is at $60 million.

The county is forced to build a new jail after admitting in court in a federal lawsuit that conditions at the current jail are unconstitutional.