Calhoun County Jail
Port Lavaca, Texas
SIZE: 38,600 sf / 144 beds
TYPE: New Construction
COMPLETION DATE: 2006
PROJECT DESCRIPTION: The 144-bed, mezzanine level jail facility opened in 2006. Its simplified design consists of wrapping support spaces around two control rooms connected by a central hallway. The control room at mezzanine level, or “eye in the sky”, allows an Officer to observe more than 100 inmates in housing, exercise, the multipurpose room, and any traffic down the central corridor at any one time. Central control views processing, the most volatile of spaces, the central hallway and housing for 28 female inmates. The simplified layout allows the remaining staff to focus on other duties, and for the staff located in Central control to back-up staff working the floor. Controls at the “eye in the sky” are duplicated at Central control and allow that position to roam. A secure connector allows inmates to be travel back and forth from the jail to the courts without a guard escort, and without being seen by the public.