Bellechasse is building the future of detention

In Sugiez, the Canton of Fribourg has begun construction of the new central prison. The 70.8 million Swiss franc project brings together pretrial detention, open-prison facilities, and ancillary infrastructure at a single location, marking a new chapter in the prison system both in terms of facilities and operations.

At the Bellechasse site in Sugiez, the Canton of Fribourg has launched the next major construction phase in the correctional system. With the start of construction on the new central prison, a project is taking shape that is intended to create 80 beds for pretrial detention as well as a separate building with 10 beds for open-prison conditions and work outside the facility.

The construction project is more than just a replacement building. Bellechasse is being expanded into the canton’s central correctional facility, with additional upgrades to the kitchen, parking, and access roads. For the real estate and construction sector, this is a typical example of how specialized infrastructure today is no longer renovated on a case-by-case basis but is instead reorganized as consolidated operational sites with a clear functional logic.

Vote and Construction Start Go Hand in Hand
The commitment credit of 53.06 million Swiss francs was subject to a mandatory financial referendum in the Canton of Fribourg and was clearly approved by voters on September 28, 2025. According to available documents, the total project cost is 70.8 million Swiss francs, of which 13.6 million Swiss francs will be covered by federal grants. The start of construction now follows directly on the heels of the project’s political approval.

Construction is taking place on the grounds of the Fribourg Correctional Facility in Sugiez. In addition to the prison building, plans include a facility for semi-open detention and day labor, the expansion of the existing kitchen infrastructure, additional parking spaces, and new internal access roads. Publicly available project documents also show that the facility is designed with a modular layout to facilitate future modifications.

Relocation with Implications for Existing Facilities and Operations
The canton is thus relocating functions from the current Prison centrale in Fribourg’s Lower Town to Bellechasse. The decisive factors are the structural condition of the old building, security-related shortcomings, and its challenging location in the middle of a residential area. According to current plans, the new facility is scheduled to open toward the end of 2028. This also highlights how closely architectural infrastructure, operational organization, and location policy are intertwined in specialized public real estate.

It remains to be seen how quickly the new consolidation of all correctional functions will actually simplify operations. One thing is already clear, however: With Bellechasse, Freiburg is not investing in a single building, but in a long-term reorganization of its correctional facilities portfolio.