Description

Douglas County, Georgia desperately needed to replace its outdated detention center. The old facility was inefficient and lacked the necessary space.

The new Douglas County Detention Center has 1,448 beds in its 498,000 square foot mid-rise floorplan. HOK designed the facility to increase energy efficiency by 18%. The new detention center is LEED certified; it is estimated that the new building will save $200,000 each year on energy costs. Even though the new facility is four times bigger than the old one, it will operate with the same number of staff members.

SteelCell of North America provided 704 two-inmate modular units for this project. They comprised four levels of stacked units. Each unit was prepped to receive a slider door mechanism. As the project progressed, SteelCell was able to ship in compliance with a just-in-time lean construction schedule. 176 modules per week were installed on-site. SteelCell’s total involvement from receipt of Letter of Intent until the last unit was installed was 100 days.

The new Douglas County Detention Center finished within budget and ahead of schedule. Due to the use of recycled Galvannealed steel, SteelCell was able to contribute points towards the LEED certification of the project.