Missoula County Approves $2 Million Purchase for New Sheriff's Office

MISSOULA — A building adjacent to the Missoula County Detention Center will soon house the Missoula County Sheriff's Office in a move designed to provide better supervisory control and management of the jail.

Commissioners approved the purchase of the property, located at 2415 Mullan Road, for $2 million on Tuesday, July 2. The property was formerly home to Walla Walla University and is across the street from the county jail.

“Missoula County went through the due diligence phase to purchase this building,” said County Executive Chris Lounsbury. “This space is slightly larger than the current square footage used by the Sheriff’s Department on the second floor of the courthouse.”

The city and county of Missoula plan to consolidate services into the downtown federal building. While that process is still in the planning stages, both governments have expressed interest in consolidating the various courts into the courthouse.

For now, Lounsbury said by moving the sheriff's office to the new location near the jail, the county can make room for preliminary and juvenile court inside the courthouse.

“The civilian functions of the sheriff’s office and the security of the courthouse will remain in the courthouse. They will continue to occupy a small portion of the second floor,” Lounsbury said. “But it will allow other judicial functions that are outside the courthouse to move into the courthouse and co-exist with other judicial facilities.”

Lounsbury said the Mullan property was put on the market just before the pandemic hit. While the county was interested in the building, Walla Walla University was able to purchase it.

However, the property recently became available at an asking price of $2 million. The county will finance the acquisition with cash reserves from its capital improvement plan, Lounsbury said.

“This will allow investigators and administrators from the sheriff’s office to be directly across the street from the detention center,” Lounsbury said. “This will allow them to better control and manage that facility.”