Design team presents detention-center redesign with second-floor shell for behavioral health and flexible uses

Architects and county staff updated Pueblo County commissioners on Feb. 25 about a detention-design project that the county’s design team says could accommodate a behavioral-care center, flexible shell space on a second floor, a parking garage and potential leasable retail space.

Trainer (architectural design group) representative Dave Zupan presented schematic options and said the dormitory structure was originally built to accept an added second floor; the design team recommended a shell build-out that preserves flexibility for future programming. “One of the key things is that the design group…directed them to be flexible in their design,” Zupan said.

Why it matters: County officials and the sheriff stressed the project could shift some lower-acuity mental-health and substance-use cases out of the jail environment and create program space for treatment and diversion. The design and grant timeline is constrained: design work funded by a design grant must be completed by June 30.

The sheriff told the board the county faces a need for diversion and behavioral-health programming and that the proposed second-floor shell could host clinical staff and a soft environment for treatment rather than custodial housing. “Across the state of Colorado, the jails have become mental institutions,” the sheriff said, describing the county’s goal of placing treatment space outside the secure jail tower.

Design options shown to commissioners included: a public entry off Court Street with green space; administrative spaces above kitchen and laundry; a second-floor shell for behavioral-health pods; a parking-structure option that could include leasable retail or unfinished tenant space beneath; and reuse or removal options for the existing tower.

Commissioners and staff discussed revenue-generation possibilities — municipal-hold rental, U.S. Marshals holds and grant funding (including opioid-recovery and behavioral-health grants) — as partial offsets for construction and operating costs. The presentation said the design award for schematic design totals about $2.5 million and that the design team will seek rough order-of-magnitude cost estimates from local contractors to guide next steps.

Stakeholders and partners identified in the presentation include Health Solutions, Crossroads, Turning Points and Gateway to Recovery; the sheriff said he had included representatives from the district attorney, public defender and a judge in planning visits to review diversion-model examples.

Commissioners urged prioritizing behavioral-health treatment space over additional detention capacity, discussed ensuring separation between custody and treatment areas, and requested ballpark low/medium/high cost estimates to inform grant targeting and budget planning. Several commissioners expressed support for a shell build-out option that would maximize flexibility for treatment and future program development.

Next steps identified by staff were: finalize direction on a preferred schematic option, obtain contractor cost estimates to produce a rough order of magnitude, and refine grant-match and funding strategy so design can meet the June 30 grant deadline. No formal vote was taken at the session.

Ending: Commissioners asked to revisit the item quickly so staff can pursue grant opportunities and produce cost estimates; staff and the design team said they will return with cost ranges and a recommended option.