SEATTLE - Blair and Dina Johnson have seen the area around their Highland Park neighborhood improve dramatically over the years.  But now they fear unwanted new neighbor could change all that.

One of the proposed sites is at 7200 West Marginal Way Southwest.

Larger screen

"We don't want to be known as "the neighborhood down by the jail,'" said Blair.

The City of Seattle currently rents jail space for it misdemeanor convicts from King County.

But at the end of 2012, the county is taking those beds back to make room for its increasing number of felons.

That means Seattle has to build a new jail.

One proposed location is at 117th and Aurora Avenue North, another along 15th Ave. West near the Interbay Golf Center.

Two of the proposed sites are in Highland Park, one in the 9500 block of Myers way south, the other at 7200 West Marginal Way Southwest.

All are within a mile or less of a school and many are near parks and even churches.

Neighbors in Highland Park worry that all the effort that has gone into cleaning up nearby White Center will be undermined by the 445-bed facility.

City officials say they were careful not to propose a jail location in any area zoned residential. That severely limited their locations.

"Just about the entire city is within a mile of a school. That left a little sliver of Magnuson Park, a sliver of Discovery Park, a little bit of Seward Park," said Katherine Cornwall, Policy Analyst with the City of Seattle.

Officials also point to the regional justice center in Kent, where a jail housing much more dangerous prisoners peacefully co-exists side by side with the ball fields and a new shopping center.

"So, I think it's a model for how a jail can be a good neighbor," said Cornwall.

Again, the jail is for misdemeanor offenders, like those convicted of drunk driving and domestic violence.

City officials say they are not considering buying land outside of the city because of the time and expense it would take to transport prisoners.