The project involves a 215,000-square-foot addition to the Kern County Justice Facility in Bakersfield. The project site – which has an area of more than 24 acres - is part of the larger County-owned Lerdo Detention Facility site. The project scope includes the design and construction of housing and support facilities for 822 inmates, including a central plant for heating and cooling. Project site development also includes security fencing, utility systems, new electrical service and distribution systems, pedestrian walkways, staff and visitor parking, roadway realignment, a new entry guard house, landscaping, and site lighting.
Three medium-security housing units will be built with approximately 100 cells each, and one maximum-security mental health/special housing unit with approximately 104 cells. There will also be associated facilities such as space for healthcare and for educational programmes.
Design innovations include clusters of smaller-scale housing units that are grouped according to detention levels, and support the varying security.
Kern County also plans to enroll the project in a ‘Savings by Design’ programme, which offers incentives to owners of construction projects that exceed California’s Title 24 energy efficiency standards.
The design-build team comprise Balfour Beatty Construction (general contractor), HOK Architects (project architect), Kitchell (construction manager), and DLR Architects, which created the project’s initial set of conceptual drawings.
“We look forward to developing a highly interactive client-project team relationship in order to deliver the most innovative, cost- and energy-effective solutions for Kern County and the Sherriff’s department,” said Brian Cahill, southwest division president of Balfour Beatty Construction. “The cumulative experience of the entire design-build team includes over 350 major justice facilities, including our current work on three large prison projects in California – the award-winning San Diego County Women’s Detention Facility, the San Mateo County Jail, and the Riverside County, East County Detention Center. We are pleased for the opportunity to utilise our combined experience and expertise to help Kern County achieve its objectives.”
The project is scheduled to break ground in August with project completion anticipated by June 2017.
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