Demolition, site work, remodeling, renovation and addition to a detention facility in Charlottesville, Virginia. Completed plans call for the renovation of a detention facility; for the demolition of a detention facility; for the remodel of a detention facility; detention facility; and for site work for a detention facility.

https://dailyprogress.com/news/local/government-politics/article_5d8ddda3-ce84-4397-bfe2-69fa489dc255.html The city of Charlottesville and counties of Albemarle and Nelson have individually approved financing plans for the multimillion-dollar renovations to the jailhouse that serves all three localities — even with a reduction in the project’s scope after the Trump administration’s tariffs drove the cost of construction up significantly. Charlottesville jail renovation bids come in millions over budget thanks to Trump tariffs Politics Charlottesville jail renovation bids come in millions over budget thanks to Trump tariffs Caroline King The votes to approve the financing were delayed in June after construction bids came in millions of dollars over budget. Instead of the $39 million that was budgeted to cover the cost of construction, which is just part of the total $49 million to be spent on everything including design and planning, the lowest construction bid came in at $53 million, from Lynchburg-based English Construction. Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail Superintendent Martin Kumer now says he and his team have worked with English to negotiate what could be accomplished within the original budget for construction costs. People are also reading… Devin Tillis 'perfectly fit' what Virginia men's basketball and Ryan Odom were seeking Netanyahu quietly visits Monticello after meeting with Trump Suspect on the run after road rage shooting on I-64 in Waynesboro Person killed in single-vehicle crash in southern Albemarle outside_mockup1 A rendering shows planned renovations to the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail. ALBEMARLE-CHARLOTTESVILL REGIONAL JAIL They chose to do this since restarting the process would risk the project losing the 25% reimbursement, roughly $11.9 million, from the commonwealth of Virginia. Kumer presented the reduced scope of the project to each of the localities before they took their final votes. With their approval, the Jail Authority Board voted at its Thursday meeting to allow Kumer to formally enter into a contract with English. Kumer has broken the previous plan into two phases. The first phase, which will demolish the east wing of the jailhouse and replace it with a two-story structure in its footprint, will still be completed. This was prioritized because, like most of the building, the east wing was built in 1974, but it has been renovated the least. AlbemarleCharlottesvilleRegionalJail'24-2.jpg Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail Superintendent Martin Kumer points at a 3D model of the jailhouse on Thursday, Feb. 1, 2024. CAL CARY, THE DAILY PROGRESS The new two-story structure will add 16,000 square feet to the jail, but will not increase inmate capacity. The additional space will bring that part of the facility up to 2018 codes, which require more square feet per inmate than the current ratio at the jail. The 65 beds in that section will be fully wheelchair accessible as well. The new structure will also add 12 new individual rooms for family, friend and professional visitation, which Kumer said is much more ideal than the current shared visitation room. Albemarle-CharlottesvilleJail'23-3.jpg Martin Kumer, superintendent of the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail, stands in the old wing of the jail on Wednesday, August 2, 2023. CAL CARY, THE DAILY PROGRESS Other additions in Phase 1 include: Three new outdoor recreation areas. Two mental health offices with group therapy rooms. Two additional mental health community provider rooms. Two purpose-built mental health housing areas with a total of 14 beds. One large inmate classroom. 14 additional office spaces for staff. Phase 2 was originally planned to renovate and reconfigure roughly 40,000 square feet of the west wing of the jail. That phase of the project would have removed the bar grate from the housing areas to meet 2018 space standards for dormitory and dayroom spaces. It also would have replaced exterior windows and replaced and added toilets and showers to meet 2018 standards. Lighting, plumbing, heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems were also to be upgraded. lobby_mockup A rendering shows planned renovations to the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail's lobby. ALBEMARLE-CHARLOTTESVILLE REGIONAL JAIL Kumer said that the smaller line items on this list will be done over time using the jail’s annual maintenance budget, but the HVAC replacement, which was the impetus for the entire project, will get done as a part of the contract with English. This is critical to improving conditions for inmates in the jail, according to Jesse Crosson, founder of the Second Chancer Foundation, which provides support for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people. He recounted his own experience as an inmate in the jail two decades ago. “It would be 110, 120 degrees,” Crosson told The Daily Progress. “There’s no airflow. It was sweltering. It was miserable. We had guys falling out from heat stroke. It was just fundamentally inhumane.” Jesse Crosson Headshot (copy) Crosson Crosson said he believes that renovating the jail and improving conditions will make it more likely that inmates will be able to be rehabilitated. Others disagree. A group calling itself the People’s Coalition has protested the renovation with slogan such as “Can’t get well in a cell,” suggesting rehabilitation is not possible in jail no matter the conditions. Harold Folley, a civil rights and racial justice organizer with the Charlottesville-based Legal Aid Justice Center who is part of the group, has said that the money being spent on the jailhouse could be better spent elsewhere in the community and should be redirected to other social services that prevent people from going to jail in the first place. Harold Folley Folley “The People’s Coalition continues to call for real investment in community resources — housing, mental health care, reentry support — not wasteful spending on incarceration,” Folley said in a statement delivered to The Daily Progress. Crosson, as a self-described restorative justice advocate, said he can understand why people want to divert the money and rid society of all forms of incarceration. “I would love to get to the point where we have the support of services and structures where we don’t have to put anybody in jail, but we’re not there,” he said. The renovation work is set to start Sept. 15 and is estimated to be completed within 2 1/2 years. Despite the construction moving full steam ahead, Folley said the People’s Coalition is not giving up. “Our movement is far from over,” he said. “We’re building power, we’re growing stronger — and we’ll be back.” ------------------------- https://www.cvilletomorrow.org/jail-renovation-stalls-after-contractor-bids-exceed-budget/ The Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail’s renovation plan hit a new hurdle Friday — the bids it received from contractors were over the budget. “We opened bids on Friday afternoon, and the lowest bid exceeded the budget,” said Brian Pinkston, Charlottesville’s vice mayor. “The jail Board has work to do to right-size the project, to get it within budget.” The Charlottesville City Council had planned to vote on allocating bond financing to pay for the renovations at Monday’s Council meeting. That vote was removed from the agenda Monday morning. The renovation and expansion of the jail were originally estimated at $49 million in 2023. The cost would be split between Albemarle County, the City of Charlottesville, Nelson County and the Commonwealth of Virginia.Because the localities plan to pay for the project in part with bonds — a way for governments to borrow money from investors and repay it with interest — the total cost was expected to exceed $70 million by the time the debt is paid off. It’s the highest tier option that was presented to the City for consideration — the option that included tearing down some parts of the jail and rebuilding, according to the reporting by The Daily Progress. ACRJ Superintendent Martin Kumer would not say what the contractors’ bids were. “We need more time to work with the contractor to finalize the scope of work and complete some value engineering to determine the final cost to build,” said Kumer. The opponents of the jail renovation plan have been pushing back on the idea that it’s a wise way of spending the funds at all, local activists tell Charlottesville Tomorrow. On one hand, the jail needs renovation — parts of it were built in 1975 and are outdated by modern jail and Americans with Disabilities Act standards, CBS19 News reported. The plan is also going to add more capacity and mental health resources. On the other hand, opponents of the project argue that the amount of money allocated to the renovation could be better spent on community resources that would help divert people from the criminal justice system. “We don’t need a bigger jail,” Harold Folley Jr., a senior organizer with the Legal Aid Justice Center, a legal services provider, said in a news release put out by the People’s Coalition’s, which are local organizers. “What we need are investments in healthcare, housing, and mental health services.” So far, the city has spent $4.5 million on design contractors, according to reporting by The Daily Progress. Activists told The Daily Progress that the money is worth losing if it means the project doesn’t move forward. Despite the change to the agenda, the opponents to the renovation are still going to attend the City Council to protest the renovation, said Folley. “This pause gives us the opportunity to get the word out because the people still don’t know that this expansion is happening,” he said. Democracy Editor Jessie Higgins contributed to this report. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This project has used prequalification to select General Contractors to provide bids. All others who obtain electronic Bid Documents or hard/paper Bid Documents through other means, including Plan Rooms, other Contractors, Owner, or third-party websites (ConstructConnect, Dodge, iSqFt., etc) are not considered Planholders. Only prequalified General Contractors will be notified of Addenda.