Correctional Complex, Elkhart County, Indiana
DLZ services commenced to complete the architectural programming and prepare the Master Plan for a new correctional complex. It is a $187 million project located on an 80-acre site 2 miles south of Elkhart, Indiana. The correctional facility assessment study identified the need for 1,660 inmate beds. The philosophy behind the design focuses on inmate programs aimed at the reduction of recidivism. Therefore, when the programming workshops commenced, the final Master Plan proposed a closed campus design solution.
The correctional complex has been master-planned to accommodate an additional expansion, which would include
- A 768-bed minimum-medium custody adult unit,
- Two other 168-bed maximum custody adult units that will provide an extra 336 maximum custody beds,
- Two 24-bed juvenile detention housing units.
If all of the planned build-out occurs following the master plan, the complex will provide 2,680 adult beds and 120 juvenile beds and all necessary support services.
Various site development elements included site parking and vehicular circulation, public plaza design, outdoor employee spaces, campus perimeter buffering, a stormwater system utilizing natural systems, planting and irrigation, and wetland protection and enhancement.
DLZ provided complete architectural, engineering, site, landscape architecture, and construction administration services for Phase I and IV of the Master Plan. Phases II and III are under construction.
