Joint Juvenile Justice Center

City of Chesapeake/Commonwealth of Virginia Partnership

Conceptual Design of Justice Center

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Executive Summary

The proposed Joint Juvenile Justice Center is a partnership with the City of Chesapeake

and the Department of Juvenile Justice to co-locate two juvenile justice facilities on one

property in Chesapeake. The City would operate a juvenile detention center and the

Commonwealth would operate a juvenile correction center. The 112-bed facility (48

City/64 Commonwealth) would be located at 3316 South Military Highway in the Deep

Creek neighborhood and would be developed on City-owned property.

Chesapeake is searching for a replacement for its current detention center in Great

Bridge. Cost estimates for replacement in 2015 were between $21 million and $30

million. The City’s contribution to this partnership is donating the City land, site

preparation costs, and $7.5 million toward construction costs. The total contribution is

approximately $11.6 million. The current location in Great Bridge will not accommodate

the joint facility and the proposed location is centrally located for Hampton Roads

juveniles who will be housed at the facility.

The proposal is beneficial to Chesapeake because it will replace the current 1960s era

facility in Chesapeake and potentially save at least $8 million in City capital to be used

for other projects. The City will also realize reduced operating expenses through shared

services with the Commonwealth. Most importantly, this project will add 300 stable,

well-compensated jobs to the Deep Creek section of Chesapeake. The Joint Juvenile

Justice Center will also redevelop a City property on Military Highway and might spur

private redevelopment investment.

The facility will be an attractive addition to Military Highway, and will look like a secure

college campus. Safety and security are the primary focus, however, the facility will not

look like a prison or a jail. Research also indicates no negative impact on property values

in the surrounding area.

The City is prepared to move forward and we have confirmed the commitment of the

Virginia Department of Justice to partner on this project. The City included this facility in

our Legislative package in 2016 and 2017 and the funding is available for construction

now.

After community meetings, exploration of other sites, and citizen input, 3316 South

Military Highway is still the best location for this partnership project.

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Proposed Joint Juvenile Justice Center

The City of Chesapeake has been working with the Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice

(VDJJ) since 2015 to build a Joint Juvenile Justice Center (JJJC) within the City. This proposal is to

build two facilities that will be co-located on one property; one new Chesapeake Juvenile

Services (CJS) facility, replacing the current detention center located next to the Chesapeake

City Jail in Great Bridge, and one Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice Correctional Center.

The purpose of CJS is to provide safe, secure custody for juveniles who have been charged with,

or found guilty of criminal offenses, and are awaiting further court action. Some juveniles are

held while awaiting transportation to existing VDJJ facilities or other placements. The CJS

operates a comprehensive program of detention services for the juvenile courts to help ensure

the public safety of our citizens. VDJJ correctional centers house residents who have been

committed to VDJJ care by a court. VDJJ provides a secure environment designed to prepare

them for return to their communities with an enhanced ability to become productive citizens.

Together, these facilities will employ approximately 300 personnel working 24 hours a day,

seven days a week.

The proposed JJJC will have 112 beds, with 48 of those beds operated by Chesapeake Juvenile

Services, and 64 beds managed by the Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice. The proposed

location is 3316 South Military Highway in the Deep Creek borough of the City.

Why Chesapeake?

The VDJJ currently operates two Juvenile Correctional Centers (JCC), Beaumont and Bon Air,

which are located in the Richmond area. These centers are functionally outdated and are

physically aging. Beaumont and Bon Air are a mix of outdated dorm-style cottages, with

buildings dating back to the 1950s (some to the 1920s), and three self-contained residential

facilities built during in the 1990s that were modeled after adult correctional centers. Virginia’s

JCC system has undergone a transformation process that has been modeled after other states’

programs which are designed to promote rehabilitation while reducing the emphasis on

incarceration. The net effect of this shift is to reduce costs and improve outcomes for our

juveniles. One of the tenets of this transformation is to house the youths closer to their

families, in a regional center. Statistics show rehabilitation rates increase when families are

involved with the youths that are housed in these state facilities. The goal is to house the

youths within one hour’s drive from their homes.

Due to the condition of the City’s current facility in Great Bridge, Chesapeake staff are also

looking for a replacement for their building. Part of the current CJS facility was built in 1961 (56

years ago) with an addition in 1995. The aging building is in a constant state of repair and is

costly to maintain. The plumbing, electrical, heating and air conditioning systems are obsolete

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and in need of replacement because it is increasingly difficult to service these antiquated

systems. Additionally, the kitchen refrigerator/freezer chiller units and the closed circuit

television system must be replaced. If a replacement is not built in the near term, the city will

commit $2 million for needed repairs. When the City began planning its current City Jail

expansion in 2015, estimates for a replacement CJS center were $21 million for a 50 bed facility

and $30 million for an 80 bed facility.

Proposed Location

The City was approached by the VDJJ in the summer of 2015 to discuss a possible partnership.

The VDJJ was looking for land in Hampton Roads to build a regional facility and the City of

Chesapeake had both a need for a new juvenile detention center and available property. As

discussions began, the City looked at housing the combined facility at the current location in

Great Bridge, but it is not large enough. The current location is encumbered by the city jail and

the Sheriff’s office. To the north and west are wetlands. Modern designs for juvenile facilities

incorporate more open spaces in both working and living areas and the Great Bridge location is

simply not large enough. Additionally, if there were enough room to build a new facility in our

Great Bridge location, the juveniles would need to be placed in other locations in order to

demolish the existing building and to build the new Joint Juvenile Justice Center, increasing the

cost. The staff then began investigating other City-owned properties of approximately 15 acres

or greater in the Economic Development Authority’s inventory of property and actively

investigated three sites, including the proposed location. The City did not initially evaluate any

real estate that was not in the City’s inventory in order to minimize costs and provide the best

value for our 240,000 citizens.

One of the three locations investigated was Steppingstone Square / Smith Avenue (Appendix 1),

which is a 53-acre site committed for commercial development, north of the Greenbrier section

of Chesapeake. The other location is in the Oakbrooke Business Park area of the City (Appendix

2) and would require assembling multiple parcels in order to create a site large enough for this

shared operation. Both of these locations have been targeted for commercial and/or

technological development. The cost of these two properties is higher per acre than the

proposed location and do not provide an economically attractive alternative.

The third site (and the proposed site) is located at 3316 South Military Highway (Appendix 3).

This City-owned property was originally purchased in 2012 with the intent to move our Public

Works Operations from the Greenbrier section of the City. While most of the operations could

have moved there, it would not contain all of the functions nor be capable of any future growth.

It is a former auto auction business that was dormant at the time of purchase. The City paid

$2.4 million for the property in 2011 and there are no other planned or foreseeable uses for this

property.

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The proposed location contains a similar footprint of residential homes and schools as our

current CJS facility (Appendix 4) that is located in the municipal complex near City Hall and the

Chesapeake City Jail. The current location is also situated immediately adjacent to a primary

school.

After hosting community outreach meetings and with direction from Council, we also looked at

two additional sites that are not currently in the City’s real estate inventory.

One of the locations is 3856 South Military Highway (the former Copart auto auction site)

(Appendix 5). It is a 29-acre lot that is immediately east of the Public Works Bowers Hill

Maintenance Yard. It is encumbered by two large Virginia Power transmission easements and

could provide a potential buffer for City in-town lake water reservoirs. On a cursory

investigation, the location meets the criteria but would require additional expenditures for

acquisition, a stormwater retention pond, and utility extensions. The stormwater retention

pond is estimated to cost $750,000. The owner stated his appraisal was $3.5 million for the

property and the City’s tax assessment is $2.9 million. The City made a fair and realistic offer to

the owner, who then counter offered a price that was almost $1 million more than our

appraisal. The owner also barred City employees from inspecting the property.

The second location we reviewed was the 18-acre Ridgeway Farm Property (Appendix 6) located

at approximately 4600 South Military Highway. This property is adjacent to new Fire Station #

10 site in the Sunray community. While this location appears to meet the siting criteria, it will

also require additional expenditures to purchase the property, create a stormwater

management facility, and for sanitary sewer and utility extensions. The current owner is not

actively marketing the property. The City’s assessment is approximately $215,800.

After reviewing these additional properties, 3316 South Military Highway is still the most

practical City-owned property for this project. There have been no inquiries about this property

from interested businesses to date. Our Economic Development Department believes the only

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viable business for this location could be a storage facility.

Some citizens have concerns that this facility will decrease their property values. Chesapeake's

Real Estate Assessor reviewed the location, surrounding areas, and the proposed design and

construction features. They also surveyed property values around similar facilities in the

greater region. Based on these studies, we do not anticipate a negative impact on surrounding

property values.

Benefits from the Partnership with the Commonwealth

As previously noted, estimates to replace the Chesapeake Juvenile Services center at its current

location could cost between $21 and $30 million. The proposed Joint Juvenile Justice Center is

fiscally responsible for our citizens. As currently agreed to, the City’s contribution to this project

is to donate the City-owned land (real property cost $2.4 million), pay to prepare the property

to build the facility (approximately $1.7 million), and appropriate $7.5 million for construction

costs for a total expenditure of approximately $11.6 million. Once the project is complete, the

City will pay for the operation of our portion of the facility. The Commonwealth will contribute

the rest of the cost of the construction and cover their facility’s operating expenses. This

scenario creates a construction savings of at least $8 million and up to $18 million which will be

available for other capital projects in the City. The construction funds are available for this

project.

This project will provide temporary construction jobs for up to 18 months. Upon completion,

this partnership will create 300 jobs, including transfers from our existing Juvenile Center in

Great Bridge and additional positions with the Commonwealth. These will be stable, well-

compensated jobs in Deep Creek.

Both the Commonwealth and the City will benefit by gaining operating efficiencies, realizing

cost savings, and providing enhanced services for local juveniles transitioning back to their

families in the Hampton Roads communities. The new Joint Juvenile Justice Center will have

dedicated areas such as a library, medical facilities, classrooms, visiting areas, private

counseling areas, smaller housing units, and feature state-of-the-art technology. These design

elements support the overall goal of the Commonwealth to transition to a “Community

Treatment Model,” which is designed to improve educational and career readiness, therapeutic

services, family engagement, and re-entry planning and/or parole services. This joint center is

one component of the goal to rehabilitate the youth, and give them their best chance to

become productive members of society when they are released back to our Hampton Roads

area. Additionally, studies indicate that this new model of juvenile justice will reduce

recidivism.

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What will it look like?

The project team includes English Construction, a family-owned business that is over 100 years

old. English Construction has been involved in more public/private partnerships than any other

Virginia contractor, including 11 Department of Justice projects. Chinn Planning has worked on

over 18 juvenile facilities nationwide. Finally, Moseley Architects, who have worked on over 95

juvenile and adult facilities in the last 10 years, including the City of Chesapeake’s current City

Jail expansion, rounds out the project team.

This facility is envisioned as a campus-like style similar to a community college. The exterior will

be secure, attractive, and landscaped. The design and construction team will balance the

security requirements with the need to be aesthetically pleasing. Inside the facility, they will

create an environment that is healthy and therapeutic.

The primary focus of the design will be the safety of the staff, juveniles, and the community.

The following images are early design elements of what the facility could look like at 3316

South Military Highway.

Conceptual Front View

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Conceptual Education and Gymnasium

Conceptual Housing

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Why now?

City Staff and the Commonwealth both committed to this project in 2015. Council included this

in their Legislative Package in 2016 and again in 2017. The 2017 Legislative Program states “The

City requests continued support for funding of the Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ)

Transformation Plan and a Joint Juvenile Justice Center in Chesapeake.” (Page 4) The

Commonwealth has secured funding for this site and is prepared to move forward. City staff

and officials from the Commonwealth believe the proposed location is the proper site to build

the Joint Juvenile Justice Center. This City-owned property will provide the best economic value

for our 240,000 taxpayers and allow cost savings to be allocated to other capital projects in the

City.

City Staff has done due diligence in the site selection process by hosting community meetings,

receiving input, and exploring other potential locations for this Center. With all of the

information gathered, 3316 South Military Highway continues to be the best-suited and most

fiscally responsible choice for our City.

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Appendix 1

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Appendix 2

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Appendix 3

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Appendix 4

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Appendix 5

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Appendix 6