STV Wins Contract to Design New Macomb County, Michigan, Jail

STV, a leading provider of architectural and engineering design, has been selected by the Macomb County Department of Corrections to provide design and construction phase services for a new jail to be built in Macomb County, Michigan.

STV will be the lead design-architect and will work with the Mount Clemens, MI-based firm PARTNERS in Architecture, PLC, which will serve as the architect-of-record.

The facility, slated to cost between $150 million and 200 million, will hold 1,500 beds and is scheduled to be completed by 2022. STV began developing concepts this month.

“When creating these kinds of spaces, we try to look at the big picture and determine the overall needs of and goals for both the facility and its residents,” said David Miles Ziskind, FAIA, NCARB, LEED AP BD+C, STV senior vice president and chief architect. “Our designs employ humane methods that support a variety of programs ranging from treatment to education and community integration, all of which fall under the idea that the sentence is the punishment, not the facility.”

Plans for the facility will include several options to improve existing operations, both by increasing efficiency and creating more humane environments. The program may also include the construction of replacement buildings. Although planning is still in early stages, issues addressed by the design team will include a new intake center, and housing for detainees with mental health and substance abuse challenges.

The new facility follows a 2016 study that outlined a series of improvements that could be potentially phased into the Macomb County Jail system over the next several years. The existing facility currently only holds 1,200 beds, which has led to overcrowding. The new jail will also address aging infrastructure at the current facility.

Construction will be executed in phases to facilitate continuity of public safety operations. In addition to serving as lead design-architect, STV will provide structural, mechanical, electrical, plumbing and fire protection design services, as well as manage phasing, staging and scheduling.

For years, STV’s justice and institutional design practice, led by Ziskind, has championed humane design as a means to reduce recidivism in correctional facilities. Examples include the District of Columbia Correctional Treatment Facility, focused on substance abuse and mental health treatment programs and the Iowa Correctional Institution for Women, focusing on recidivism reduction through a wide assortment of programs and treatment facilities. STV will apply a similar philosophy in the design and construction of the new jail.

For more information, contact:

Jill Bonamusa
(212) 614-3354
jill.bonamusa@stvinc.com

Debra Trace
(610) 385-8306
debra.trace@stvinc.com