Description

Allegan County’s aging jail was costing the county money. They took a proactive course of recycling an existing building for use as a new modern jail. To do this, the County Commissioners hired RQAW. The architect needed to design a modern, cost-effective solution within the $16 million budget.

The project team decided to enlist SteelCell of North America to maximize the space. SteelCell would provide as many modular detention cells and units as possible. These units included many different designs. They included holding units, special management areas, toilet and shower units and janitor closets.

The new jail was designed to fit into an existing building. It had formerly been a furniture manufacturing plant. Reusing this structure saved the county millions of dollars in materials and construction time. SteelCell was well-equipped to address this location’s unique needs with custom designed modules. Our project engineers worked closely with the architect to maximize the space.

The design of the new facility contains many detention classifications, giving the county flexibility . They are now separated by incarceration type and security level. Personnel can now monitor all eight housing pods from one central point control center.