GEO Group Announces Management of Three New Facilities
BOCA RATON, Fla. — On Feb. 1 the GEO Group assumed management of three Florida correctional facilities under a contract with the state’s Department of Management Services. The private correctional administrator will now operate the 985-bed Moore Haven Correctional Facility, the 985-bed Bay Correctional Facility in Panama City, and the 1,884-bed Graceville Correctional Facility.
Under these agreements, which were first awarded in October 2013, the company will manage the facilities for three years, with successive two-year renewal option periods. Total annualized revenue from the three facilities is expected to reach roughly $56 million at full occupancy.
Upon the initial notice of award in 2013, George C. Zoley, Chairman and CEO of GEO Group, expressed the company’s appreciation for the confidence placed in the firm by the Florida Department of Management Services. According to a release issued by the company on Feb. 1, Zoley was also pleased with the successful management transition of the three facilities, which, he added, play an important role in providing cost efficient correctional bed space in the state of Florida.
The firm also announced on Feb. 3 that it has increased the contracted capacity at the company-owned Rio Grande Detention Center in Laredo, Texas from 1,500 to 1,900 beds under a contract with the U.S. Marshals Service. The U.S. Marshals Services is expected to occupy up to 1,228 beds with the remaining 672 beds reserved for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The 1,900-bed Center is expected to generate approximately $38 million in total annualized revenues for the firm.
In regards to the Laredo expansion, Zoley said, “We also appreciate the confidence placed in our company by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement with the expanded use of our company-owned Rio Grande Detention Center, which has been delivering high quality, cost efficient services since 2008. We look forward to strengthening our long-standing public-private partnerships with Federal and State agencies across the country.”
The Geo Group, Inc., founded in 1984, is an equity real estate investment trust focused on the design, financing, development and operation of correctional, detention and community reentry facilities around the globe, maintaining operations in the United States, Australia, South Africa and the United Kingdom. In addition to it’s recent contracts, the firm’s operations include the ownership and/or management of 59 correctional facilities in the United States, with an additional seven overseas. GEO also operates 20 community-based facilities, 54 day reporting centers and a total of 12 residential youth services facilities. The company employs roughly 18,000 workers.