Tipton County Jail Breaks Ground on New Facility

By Roxanne Squires

TIPTON, Ind. – The Tipton County Board of Commissioners hosted a groundbreaking event in August to celebrate the beginning of construction on the new Tipton County Jail and Sheriff’s Administration Center.

The new 35,788-square-foot, 80-bed facility will replace the current 120-year-old building.

The building will incorporate numerous unique design features to improve correctional operations as well as safety and security, including an elevated control room with 360-degree visibility of inmate housing and intake/booking.

The new facility boasts a two-level operational concept which is divided into four areas: inmate housing, support and intake/booking and release, public area and sheriff’s office. The design of the structure also permits future modification and expansion of the jail.

“Goals for this project are many, with effective stewardship of taxpayer dollars a top priority. I’m confident that the functional aspects of this facility meet Tipton County’s current and anticipated future needs for the safety and security of our citizens, Sheriff’s Department, and Jail staff,” said Mark Manier, commissioner.

Following prior design discussions in 2016 that did not meet site selection or budget needs, the County applied a progressive design-build approach for design and construction of the new facility.

The design-builder for the project, Performance Services, was selected following a thorough selection process.

Design-build team members include Joe Mrak, senior architect and principal for Securitecture; American Structurepoint, Lynch, Harrison & Brumleve, Byce & Associates, and local contractors, Elevation Excavation and Omni Electric. Construction trades will be selected in an open-book bidding process.

Unique features of the new law enforcement center include: an aesthetically pleasing design respectful of the local architectural character. The inclusion of one mental health cell supporting four-beds, increasing the number of beds by 10 with the same budget. Creating the first jail within the state to have booking that can be observed 32-feet from the central control area, indoor/outdoor recreation, critical infrastructure capacity sized for future expansion, enhanced patrol/investigations/common support areas with locker rooms and enhanced training opportunities with a larger 940-swaure-foot training room.

Reports from Performance Services contributed to this story.