A consulting team led by architectural/engineering firm PSA-Dewberry, which specializes in corrections and criminal justice facilities, has been selected by Calaveras County to design a new 240-bed jail to replace an aging and chronically overcrowded facility built in 1963.

The $43-million facility in San Andreas will relieve crowding and enable the county to expand its drug treatment and educational programs.

The complex consists of three buildings—a 73,000-sq-ft jail and a 14,000-sq-ft dormitory, which will be co-located with a 39,000-sq-ft sheriff’s administration facility.

The new direct supervision jail will include educational, training, and counseling spaces and video visitation technology. The new sheriff’s facility will house the county’s emergency operations center and 911 communications center as well as a large community room.

Fairfax, Va.-based PSA-Dewberry is providing architecture, interior design, and security technology services. Project team members also include RBF Consulting of Sacramento for civil engineering, New York-based Alfa Tech Cambridge Group for mechanical/electrical engineering, Buehler & Buehler of Sacramento and Roseville for structural engineering, Salinas-based Jeff Fetter Associates for food service design and Columbia, S.C.-based Chinn Planning, Inc. for programming.

Kitchell is the construction manager on the project. Bids will open for a general contractor in late spring or early summer, with construction anticipated to begin in August. Completion is scheduled for September 2012.

The project includes 80 cells housing 160 beds and support and program facilities for 160 inmates, paid for by AB900 Lease Revenue Bonds; a dormitory housing 80 beds and support program facilities paid for by County bond funds; a new Sheriff’s Administration Building with a 911 Dispatch Center and Emergency Operations Center consisting of approximately 48,000 sq ft. This site is located directly north of the Animal Services Buildings and adds 57 acres to the existing Government Center, 11.5 acres for the New Adult Detention Facility and 6.5 acres for a New Courthouse.

The site layout will accommodate the present project, as well as a new Superior Court Building to be funded and built by the State of California. It is anticipated that construction of the court facility will be concurrent with that of the Detention Center and Sheriff’s Administration Building, Calaveras County officials say.