Case Study | Corrections: Branch County Jail and Sheriff’s Office Feasibility Study

Branch County’s “temporary” Jail for the past 30 years was a nursing home that closed in the 1990s and was renovated into the county jail. With the facility in poor condition, maintenance costs skyrocketing, increasing overcrowding, difficulties in monitoring inmate activities, and staff-intensive operations, the County decided to determine feasibility for a new jail. A four-phase approach was set for the study: Pre-project/Strategic Planning/Staff and Space Programming/ and Conceptual Design and Estimating, and a committee of County Commissioners, Sheriff’s Office staff, building users, and County personnel assisted with the study.

Securitecture used 10-year historical data and interviews with key staff to craft a 20-year strategic plan for Branch County’s Justice System needs, projecting that 240-340 beds would be required to meet 20-year growth. Securitecture developed an architectural program and staffing profile for a 240-bed jail prototype facility, with 7 different design concepts showing potential for: Renovation of the existing jail/Renovation and addition to the existing jail/New jail at the existing site location/New jail at new site locations. Concepts included construction costs, project costs, and staffing and operational budgets ranging from $11.4 to $28.9 million; six of the designs meet 20- year anticipated needs.

The completed study established a baseline of information for a fully informed decision by the County, with data to present to the Community to proceed with a millage question for funding the proposed project.