The $47.3 million expansion of the Montgomery County Detention Facility is progressing as expected according to TCU Consulting Services, project management firm for the new facility. Construction began in October 2006 and is expected to be completed by October 2008.
The present Detention Facility was constructed in 1985-87 as a 305 single cell facility with four floors and a basement level. As the inmate population grew, a temporary solution was to double-bunk certain cells, increasing the number of beds to 550. The inmate population continued to rise and the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office was forced to house inmates in Lowndes, Wilcox, Pickens and Clay counties. On July 18, 2005, the Montgomery County Commission approved the long-awaited Detention Facility expansion and the construction bid was awarded on October 16, 2005.
The new expansion will add 696 beds to the current 305 beds in the existing facility, giving the Montgomery County Detention Facility a total of 1,001 beds. The new 169,768 square foot facility will consist of four floors, three of which will house minimum and medium security inmates. The first floor will provide intake and release, central control, records, classification, medical exam rooms, a staff training room, staff lounge, lockers and staff gym. This floor will also contain administrative offices and a large conference room.
The second floor will consist of the medical unit, a multi-purpose room and the female housing unit. The medical unit will allow for treatment of inmates’ illnesses and injuries and will contain 27 single cells, 3 padded cells and 1 observation cell, as well as a waiting area, pharmacy, medical offices, dental office, 3 exam rooms, and storage.
The second floor female housing unit and the third and fourth floor male housing units will contain four-person cells, a recreation area, a visitation area and a multi-purpose room to provide for inmate programs and services to each unit. Each unit will contain mezzanine housing levels arranged to afford maximum visibility from an enclosed control booth. Each control booth will be staffed by a correctional officer who will supervise 3 inmate housing areas, each containing 12 four-person cells, 48 beds to a block and 144 inmates to a unit.
The existing Detention Facility will contain the inmate workers unit, both medium and maximum security housing units, a disciplinary isolation unit and administrative segregation cells. The laundry, inmate library, chapel, mental health unit and indoor-outdoor recreation for inmates housed in the current facility will continue to be maintained.
The administrative offices on the first floor of the current facility will be remodeled to house the video visitation area. When the expansion is completed, visitors will enter the current Detention Facility and talk with detainees via computer webcams. This new feature brings an added bonus because inmates will no longer need to be escorted to a visitation area but will be able to participate in visitation from their cells.
The kitchen in the existing facility is undergoing a major renovation to accommodate the increased inmate population.
The new facility is located on the corner of Adams Avenue and South McDonough Street, across from the current Detention Facility. An overpass at the northern end of the existing building will connect the two buildings.
Projected staffing needs for the expanded Detention Facility call for 75 additional correctional officers and 25 additional civilian employees.
