New Juvenile Justice Center in Sioux Falls to open later this month

Minnehaha County operates the existing Juvenile Detention Center built in 1969 and serves 17 counties in the region.

The newly constructed Juvenile Justice Center in southwest Sioux Falls will open later this month with work on the second phase scheduled to start in November or early December.

The $50 million project will increase available space from the current 40 to 64 beds and was constructed to meet future demand. The facility serves Minnehaha County and 17 others in the region.

When it opens, Director Jamie Gravett said they will likely be using seven of the nine pods in the new facility. It was designed to improve safety with better monitoring of the youth and allowing them to be separated.

The project will also provide improved classroom and recreational space. The staff focuses on rehabilitation, not punishment, as they work to get the juveniles “back home and keep them out of the adult justice system,” Gravett said

When the facility opens with the seven pods, he said that will allow 48 beds to be available for now.

The current center was built in 1969 at 4200 West Ave. with 20 beds and expanded in 1997. It averages about 30 youth in recent months although the count was 33 this week.

One of the positives in construction has been that bids from the main contractor and sub contractors were “very favorable,” Gravett told Sioux Falls Live, with bids coming in well below the $50 million bond.

With the lower bids, the county commission on Tuesday approved adding a $1.6 million addition to the project that will be a “shell building” for a possible second courtroom and offices down the road.

Gravett said they will be putting in footings, walls and the roof in the shell building and have it available if needed perhaps seven to 10 years in the future. It will be on the far west side of the complex in the area where the current structure will be demolished.

He described it as a future savings for taxpayers down the road.

Commission Chairman Dean Karsky said the 6,600 square-foot shell building with a price tag of $1.6 million is a fantastic price at about $250 per square foot. Read the full story on Sioux Falls Live’s website.