Charleston County News Release

 

MEDIA CONTACT

Name:   Jennie Davis, Charleston County Public Information Officer

Phone: 843.958.4012

Email:   jdavis@charlestoncounty.org

 

Release Number: 2880

Date: May 1, 2008


See renderings of building: http://www.charlestoncounty.org/newsimages/DetentionCenter.htm

Detention Center expansion fact sheet: http://www.charlestoncounty.org/newsimages/DetentionCenterExpansionFactSheet.pdf


Groundbreaking Ceremony Held for Detention Center Expansion

            Charleston County officials attend ceremony on May 1 to kick-off construction

 

Charleston County Council members, Sheriff Al Cannon, Jr., and other chief law enforcement and local authorities will attend a groundbreaking ceremony at 11 a.m. today to celebrate the beginning of the construction on the County’s Detention Center expansion project.

 

The total inmate capacity will be 2,033 once the expansion is complete, meaning an increase in capacity of 1,344 inmates from the current level.

 

In 2007, the average daily population was 1,762 inmates, including inmates housed at the work camp and those checked out of the facility, but not incarcerated juveniles.

 

“Expanding the existing Detention Center is a necessary investment in order to keep the citizens of our County safe,” said Tim Scott, Charleston County Council Chairman. “The current, overcrowded conditions are not safe or sufficient for those who work in the facility.”

 

The plan to build the Detention Center expansion was approved by Charleston County Council on November 20, 2007. The design-build contract was awarded to M.B. Kahn on December 12, 2007.

 

The expanded facility, located at 3841 Leeds Avenue in North Charleston, will be a 323,000-square foot, four-story building. The building is estimated to be completed by August of 2010.

 

The existing Detention Center includes a one-story building that was built in 1966, and a four-story addition that was completed in 1993.

 

“We are happy to be proceeding with this project. There is a tremendous need for additional space at the Detention Center,” said Charleston County Sheriff Al Cannon, Jr. “We have spent a great deal of time looking for alternatives, and County Council has recognized the need for this expansion. I am extremely happy with the progress we have accomplished to reach this point.”

 

In order to fund the $100 million project, Charleston County borrowed $75 million in December of 2007 to fund its Capital Improvement Plan, which included $53 million toward the Detention Center expansion. The County anticipates borrowing another $50 million in the fall of 2009, with $47 million going to complete the project. The County will repay the amounts borrowed over 20 years.

 

The expansion project is being managed by Charleston County Government’s Capital Projects Department.

 

Visit www.charlestoncounty.org for other news and up-to-date information relating to Charleston County Government.