Fifteen years after inmates awaiting trial left a jail facility in downtown Phoenix, Maricopa County has transformed the space into an office building for prosecutors.
The Maricopa County Attorney's Office recently moved into the new six-floor office building that was formerly the site of the Madison Street Jail. The jail held its last inmate in 2005 and was shut down because it needed numerous repairs.
The county completed two studies over several years to determine what to do with the abandoned facility and finally decided to renovate it into a new county attorney's office. Before, county attorney staff had been spread out in several locations.
The project broke ground for demolition in 2018. Employees moved into the new building shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic and are now working from the office.
County Attorney Allister Adel told The Arizona Republic that the county's ability to re-use the facility in this way could lead to a national best practice.
“I am so appreciative of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors for their efforts to house the County Attorney’s Office in a singular building," Adel said. "The new space supports a culture of collaboration critical to work of this office and creates efficiencies that will benefit the citizens of Maricopa County for years to come."
Some of the building's original exterior remains and crews were able to reuse some of the steel from the demolition in the new construction.
Madison Street Jail
The Madison Street Jail was opened in 1984 and cost $38.4 million to build.
The jail was the source of some public attention during former Sheriff Joe Arpaio's tenure.
There were web cameras that allowed the public to see inside the facility. Arpaio turned off the cameras inside the women's area after the Arizona Attorney General's Office complained about seeing inmates using the toilet, according to an April 2001 report by The Republic.
When deputies arrested more than 40 parents in 2001 for failing to pay for child support, they were transported to this facility for intake. Arpaio told the media that the parents could wave to their kids on the camera, according to a report by The Republic.
In 1998, voters approved a one-fifth sales tax to build more jail facilities. It was extended for 20 years in 2002. The Lower Buckeye and Fourth Avenue jail facilities were opened in 2005, closing the Madison Street Jail.
According to a 2005 report by The Republic, the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office moved more than 2,600 inmates when shutting down the jail. Arpaio said the jail was falling apart. He cited at least 15 instances in which inmates were digging holes through the walls.
While the county was deciding what to do with the space, the property was used for law enforcement training.
Saving the county money
The county conducted two studies to determine whether the property could be reused as a jail. However, it wasn't possible due to new standards. In 2016, the county's Facilities Management department looked into office space possibilities and contacted DLR Group, a design firm.
Larry Smith, the principal architect for the DLR Group, told The Republic that the company came up with various creative ideas on how to design an office building and then created a report for the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors.
Clint Hickman, chairman of the Board of Supervisors, said in a statement to The Republic that the project benefits the county by giving other departments more room and helping the county save money.
"The Madison Street Jail was sitting lifeless for more than 10 years before some smart individuals looked at it with a fresh set of eyes," he said. "They knew it would cost millions to tear down and then tens of millions to build something new."
Hickman said staff worked with architects and contractors to make the property into something that the county could be proud of.
Before the move, the more than 1,000 County Attorney's Office employees worked in multiple locations: county-owned buildings and leased spaces. Now, all employees can work together under one roof.
Reid Spaulding, deputy county manager, told The Republic the relocation caused a "domino effect" allowing the county to consolidate more departments in buildings that it already owns.
Departments that are currently leasing office spaces elsewhere will be able to move into the county's administrative building, which was formerly the home of many of the County Attorney's Office employees.
Once leases expire, Planning and Development, Environmental Services and Air Quality departments will also move employees to the administrative building. The departments will have a combined counter for the public to access permitting functions.
The transformation
When seeing the old facility for the first time, the architecture and construction crews noticed certain items showed the jail's history. One of the elevators still worked. Graffiti and drawings were found in cells. Office equipment like old computers were found in abandoned boxes.
Crews transformed the concrete building into an office space that is secure but also provides plenty of natural light.
The overall cost for the project was $95.5 million.
It cost $12.5 million to demolish the jail.
It cost $66 million to reconstruct the building and install new underground utilities, including connecting the new building and the Maricopa County Superior Court Complex to the downtown chilled water loop.
The loop provides chilled water to many public and private buildings downtown. According to the county, modifications were necessary to tie the loop to the court complex's HVAC equipment.
The jail had four floors with jail cells and interior mezzanines that were demolished.
Darcy Gray, construction manager for Layton Construction, told The Republic that one of the most dangerous components of the project was clearing out the floors during the demolition. Crews had to "surgically remove" the structure of each mezzanine and get them out of the building.
The site's mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems were beyond repair. However, crews were able to reuse more than 1,000 tons of steel during the project.
"There were a lot of challenges along the way of course," Smith said. "But a lot of opportunities, too."
The new office space has larger windows to bring in more light than other properties. Crews had to tackle the tiny windows in the jail cells. To create a "normal window" they had to change the outside look of the building.
Crews were able to transform the jail's former recreational yards, which had basketball courts, into courtyards for employees.
Carbon fiber was used to reinforce the existing structure and allowed crews to create unique spaces for employees, like the courtyard. The carbon fiber prevented adding extra steel or concrete. The DLR Group's use of carbon fiber for the building helped it receive an award for its innovation.
The new building also has a new sky bridge that connects it to the South Court tower.
While building the bridge, court proceedings were still going on and traffic like a bus route for the sheriff's office transporting inmates was happening below.
"We had to work closely with the court's people and the Sheriff's Office to make sure we did not interrupt their operations and still be safe going about that construction," Gray said.
An additional $17 million was spent on "soft costs" that included architect and engineering fees, permits, material testing, technology, furniture, fixtures and equipment.
Have thoughts about the Maricopa County Attorney's Office? Reach criminal justice reporter Lauren Castle at Lauren.Castle@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @Lauren_Castle.
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