Berrien County is moving forward with electrical and water line upgrades at its Juvenile Center.
The Berrien County Board of Commissioners last Thursday approved contracts with architectural and design firm Wightman to plan what’s described as much-needed water, sewer, and wiring upgrades.
County Administrator Brian Dissette says the 50-year-old facility just outside of Berrien Springs is at-or-beyond its life expectancy, but the investment is necessary.
“It buys us time at the existing juvenile center. There is definitely a need to do major construction. We’ve gone through the process and seen that, without a doubt, construction of a new juvenile center is something that could be justified. It is just the cost.”
Dissette says a new facility is cost prohibitive because construction prices have gone from an estimated $200 to $300 per square foot to at least $900 to $1,000 per square foot – post pandemic. Given the size of a juvenile detention facility, Dissette says that puts a new facility out of reach.
“The Juvenile Center has an absolute need within the community, but between the needs of the Juvenile Center and the needs of the jail, the pricing has just grown so high, so fast, that we’re doing our best to buy time at both the jail and the Juvenile Center as we wait for pricing to come back to more normal levels and for the county to make a decision on where those facilities should be built.”
The design work will cost the county about $350,000. The upgrades project itself will be put to bid next spring and cost an estimated $3.5 million.
