Fayette County Jail

Located in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, the original Fayette County Jail was built in 1892, with additions made to the facility in 1999. With a capacity for 262 inmates, the jail battled with overcrowding issues, forcing Fayette County to regularly lease additional bed space from other counties. The 132-year-old space also had various blind spots throughout that caused ongoing security concerns. In need of a larger space with enhanced security and safety measures, the County looked to construct a new jail to accommodate vocational and educational programming for inmates.

Background

Fayette County Commissioners first began planning for a new jail in 2016 and secured the former United States Army Reserve Center in 2018 for the new site. With extensive and relative experience, in addition to a strong relationship with the project architect, the County Commissioners unanimously selected SitelogIQ as the Construction Manager in May 2020, in the heart of a global pandemic.

“The firm [SitelogIQ] represents the county in every aspect of the project, providing much-needed expertise. SitelogIQ is very good in the design and documentation phases of this project. These are areas where final construction costs can be cut and project savings can be realized.”

Scott Dunn, Fayette County Commissioner

Upon joining the team, SitelogIQ’s experts helped the County select the final layout for a new 114,500-square-foot building that included the following:

  • 170 precast concrete cells with 330 beds
  • Four stories; two stories with two mezzanine levels
  • Flexible housing for easier classification and segregation of inmates
  • Programming and treatment space for inmate rehabilitation
  • Replica cell for in-house corrections officer training
  • Direct supervision management model with enhanced security and safety features

Utilizing the programming and treatment space, the new Fayette County Jail offers the Inmate Growth Naturally and Intelligently Through Education (IGNITE) program. As the first in the state to offer this program, the County hopes it will allow inmates the opportunity to experience many vocational and educational programs to help prevent their return upon release.

In addition, the building also incorporates sustainable features including high-efficiency condensing boilers and water heaters, energy recovery, LED lighting, domestic water booster pumps, resilient flooring, etc. The jail was designed to have the potential for future expansion of an additional 68 cells and 132 beds.

Tackling Challenges

Demolition of the former United States Army Reserve Center and construction of the new jail began in 2021. The project team was quickly met with challenges as they uncovered soil conditions with extensive amounts of pyrite during foundation activities. To completely remove the unacceptable soil condition, the site had to be over-excavated 5 feet below the original building pad and below the original foundation and elevation. SitelogIQ worked closely with the geotechnical engineer and design team to remove the soil while also keeping the project moving ahead to avoid schedule delays.

In addition to the soil, the project team experienced other challenges that threatened to impact the schedule. Supply chain issues delayed the delivery and installation of the electrical and fire alarm systems and a manufacturer defect for the security doors required the rewiring of every door with new equipment. In both instances, SitelogIQ again worked closely with contractors and subcontractors to adjust the schedule, keeping other areas of work moving ahead to minimize any delays.

Project Completion

Construction of the jail continued through the end of 2023 and inmates were successfully transferred in February of 2024. Despite the challenges, SitelogIQ and the project team were able to deliver the project in a timely manner and within budget.

“Building a new County Jail is always a herculean task, but in our case the difficulties were exacerbated by working on this project through a global pandemic. We recently brought the project to fruition, and I credit the dedication and expertise of the good people at SitelogIQ. This project was of the utmost importance to me, and I take great pride in the work that was done. We demanded quality work to meet exacting standards. SitelogIQ not only met, but exceeded, those standards.”

Dave Lohr, Fayette County Commissioner

“SitelogIQ did a very good job overseeing our Fayette County Prison Project. They played a key role in making sure things went well for a project of this size, and, most importantly, it was completed under budget.”

Vince Vicites, Fayette County Commissioner