Tinsley House, run by security firm G4S for the UK Border Agency, can hold up to 124 people and will also have space for eight families once refurbishment work is completed.
Despite a government commitment to end child detention in immigration cases, children may still be held at the centre for up to 72 hours.
A report in December 2009 by then chief inspector of prisons Anne Owers, labelled the centre as "wholly unacceptable" for women and children, but a fresh inspection has found conditions have improved.
However, the current chief inspector Nick Hardwick said plans to hold families at the centre "sit uneasily" with the government’s commitment to end child detention and inspectors will return to report on them once they open.
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