To the noise of jets at nearby Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, ground was broken Monday in Des Moines for a new $80.5 million regional jail by the leaders of the seven cities bankrolling it.
The 674-bed, medium-security jail for misdemeanor inmates is a partnership of Renton, Auburn, Burien, Des Moines, Federal Way, SeaTac and Tukwila, who created the South Correctional Entity or SCORE.
The the 164,000-square-foot, single-story jail is being built on a 14-acre site at 1801 S. 200th St., part of the Sea-Tac Airport noise-abatement area. The jail will open in July 2011.
King County provided the impetus for building the new jail eight years ago when it notified suburban cities that it would no longer accept misdemeanor inmates by 2012 because it expected to run out of room at its jail. Cities then began studying plans for housing their misdemeanor inmates accused or convicted of crimes such as assault, domestic violence, property crimes, traffic offenses or DUI.
“Like all the other suburban cities, we were faced with not knowing where jail space is going to come from in the future,” said Renton Mayor Denis Law. “Given the uncertainty, we had to take control of our own destiny.”
Designed by the Seattle-based DLR Group, the jail will employ 122 people, including corrections officers, medical staff and administrative personnel.
Among its features are the following:
• A layout that allows indirect supervision of the entire facility from two raised control positions and direct staff supervision within day rooms;
• A modular cell system that uses concrete-filled steel panels, saving significant floor space;
• Video visiting and arraignment systems for family visitation and expanded court activities.
“A lot of critical thinking went into strategies that make this a very cost-effective building,” said Bill Buursma, DLR Group’s principal in charge of the project. “Just as we listened to what the client wanted operationally, they were very much open to our big ideas on operational design.”
“We have designed a project that will be the premier jail facility on the West Coast,” said DLR Group Principal Larry Ahern. “This jail is truly a trendsetter in operational efficiency, in how the plan is laid out and designed to allow the facility to really be run by a relatively small staff on a per-bed basis. Central control areas will allow operation and control of the jail in an extremely efficient way. On-site medical and dental facilities really allow you to take care of the inmates on site and not get involved in transportation. Generally, the efficient design allows for an extremely low per-bed construction cost. It’s a very straight forward, simple and high quality facility.”
SCORE members expect these amenities and others to add up to a secure, efficient corrections environment with low staffing costs, operations costs and construction costs.
SCORE members noted that doing nothing, given the pending deadlines, was not an option.
“We would much prefer to build a new park or stadium or vet center,” Law said, “but it’s a necessity, and it’s good that we can work together with other cities and reduce costs. The savings that we have been able to project are significant over a lot of years.”
