The de Blasio administration is considering building a high-rise jail complex in the heart of Lower Manhattan, city officials confirmed Thursday.

As part of the city’s sweeping plan to close its troubled Rikers Island jail facility, a nine-story government building at 80 Centre Street would be gutted and replaced with a new detention center that could rise as high as 40 stories, the Mayor’s Office said. The new complex eyed for Manhattan’s Civic Center area could also potentially include affordable housing units.

“We want a site that is close to the courthouses – which this is – and is a site [where] you can build a facility that is large enough to house the population of people [who] are typically ending up on Rikers Island from the borough of Manhattan,” City Council Speaker Corey Johnson told NY1.

The city is already considering tapping another borough site as part of the Rikers Island shutdown plan: the nearby Manhattan Detention Complex at 125 White Street. However, some officials have questioned whether that site is too small.

“We are considering two potential options for a facility in Manhattan as part of our plan to close Rikers Island, and are engaging with the community to gather input,” said Natalie Grybauskas, a spokeswoman for Mayor de Blasio.

De Blasio last year announced plans to close Rikers Island’s jails within a decade, with its remaining detainees transferred to detentions centers set up in each of the five boroughs except Staten Island.