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All Departments Administration Corrections Development Services Facilities Management Human Resources Information Technology Library Services Management and Budget Services Natural Resources Management Neighborhood and Human Services Parks and Recreation Public Safety Public Works Veterans Services Waste ServicesThe 840-bed capacity Escambia County Correctional Facility replaces the Central Booking and Detention facility that was destroyed in 2014. The site is comprised of approximately 14 acres of commercial property and vacant land adjacent to the existing County Correctional Facility. The new facility and the existing facility are connected by a corridor. The facility is 304,067 square feet and is expected to obtain LEED Silver Certification. The cost for this project is estimated at $142 million.
District 3 County Commissioner Lumon May said, "I often say that this is not a construction project of a jail, and that's a misconception if anyone were to perceive that. Our overall goal is to make sure that we don't increase the numbers, but that we reduce the numbers. This day, we are not looking at a jail, but we want to be very grateful that we have project that hopefully transforms the west side and transforms the lives of children with a new anticipated community center and the new anticipated business community. We could not have done this without our administrators and without our communities. Thank you for coming out. We look forward to working with each and every one of you, and again we want to thank our chaplain, our staff, current and former commissioners and all of our elected officials for staying with us and having the bandwidth and commitment to see our community change. Again, thank you and God Bless each and every one of you."
The design-build entity that was chosen for the design and construction was a joint venture of Whitesell Green Inc., Pensacola and Caddell Construction, Montgomery, Alabama with GRW Engineers Inc. DLR Group, Orlando, Florida was awarded the design criteria portion of the project.
Escambia County Corrections Chief Rich Powell said, "The best thing that I see is the opportunity not just for the inmate population to be in a better, secure and safer environment. It’s a safe and secure environment for our staff to operate in. The biggest advantage is the size of this building of over 300,000 square feet. It is designed so it’s not tight, and it can be managed better. In the last two and half years in preparation for this building, we have been rewriting policies looking at old policies, restructuring how we conduct business and bringing policies into a modern era. Every area has a medical unit and educational area. Inmates have the essential needs to not come back. We try to introduce skill sets so they make better choices."
Escambia County Sheriff Chip Simmons said, "What you see here is near and dear to my heart because every step of the way the partners that we chose, that the Board of County Commissioners chose, we had that partnership with one goal in mind - to make it the very best. The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office will continue in this partnership and I’m proud to be a part of it."
Each housing unit has a day area, recreational yard, triage room and multi-purpose room. The multi-purpose room can be utilized for classes and religious services. Inmates can receive medical treatment at housing units. The facility is designed with separate wings to house and provide services for juveniles, keeping juveniles out of normal sight and sound of adult inmates. The facility offers video visitation.
County Administrator Janice Gilley said, "We are holding a ribbon-cutting ceremony because it’s about hope. Each of us hopes for a better day. Hoping for a better facility for individuals who do need our services and hopefully leave here in a better place than when they came. Hope for our employees to have a better environment in which to work. Hope for our partners to have a better experience. You hope for a better community. You hope for better opportunities for people. We are hopeful this is going to be a game changer in the way we manage these types of services in our community."
Additional details about the new correctional facility can be found at New Correctional Facility (myescambia.com). Click here for b-roll video for the media.
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