The B.C. government says the North Fraser pre-trial centre in Port Coquitlam is overcrowded and a new jail closer to courthouses in Metro Vancouver is needed. (CBC)

Vancouver's mayor says he wants to see a new provincial jail built close to the city's downtown core.

Gregor Robertson said Thursday he wants to see the new remand centre, which is needed because of overcrowding at existing facilities, built near downtown Vancouver.

"We're looking at somewhere close to the core where we can minimize the travel, the costs, the environmental impact of transporting prisoners all over the Lower Mainland to get to the courthouse here in Vancouver."

Robertson said he was interested in putting the facility on Main Street in the city's Downtown Eastside in a complex that already houses a police station and is in close proximity to the Vancouver provincial courthouse.

Robertson said he would like to build the remand centre in conjunction with a new police station to replace the existing aging facility.

The area is one of four potential sites the city is considering.

Coun. Suzanne Anton told CBC News Wednesday the city was also looking at industrial areas in False Creek Flats, Hastings North or south of Marine Drive near the Fraser River.

She said putting the facility on Main Street would be a huge economic boost for both the city and the Strathcona neighbourhood.

"There are the construction jobs, [and] there is the ongoing operation of the centre. It hires a lot of people, [and] there is a big payroll every year," she said.

Neighbourhood has become 'a dumping ground'

However, those who work with the residents of the Downtown Eastside, where homelessness and drug use are rampant, say this is not what the neighbourhood needs.

"I am hoping they are not choosing this neighbourhood because it is low income and they're hoping the fight back won't be quite so strong, but I think there will be quite a fight back," said Jean Swanson with the Carnegie Community Action Project.

Donna Whalley, the strata manager of an apartment building in the neighbourhood, agreed.

"This is the area that all of sudden has become so popular for a dumping ground," she said.

Whalley said the area is not just filled with homelessness and crime; it's a community with families and residents trying to revitalize the area.

"Every time we turn around, something else is coming that I think that has a major concern for the residents in terms of safety," she said.

Carl Gregg, who opened a restaurant in the area over one year ago, said things are improving and he wants it to stay that way.

"As long as it doesn't spiral backwards, then it could be a positive," Gregg said. "If it is going to spiral backwards and create a police state, then that may be a problem."

Location up to province

Two other municipalities in the Lower Mainland – Delta and Surrey – have also expressed interest in housing the new pre-trial centre, but ultimately, the provincial government will decide where it will go.

The province originally gave the region's mayors until September to pick from a list of 58 possible sites after the province's plans to build the facility at an old detention centre in Burnaby were scrapped because of community opposition. Local mayors rejected all of the sites on the province's list.

The province has said a new remand centre needs to be built in the Lower Mainland because existing facilities like the North Fraser pre-trial centre are operating at twice their capacity.