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GREENSBORO — For nearly 10 years, the Guilford County sheriff has said the county needs a new jail.

The county is expected to turn its first shovel of dirt soon on a downtown jail that will be adjacent to the existing jail at Sycamore and Eugene streets.

When that happens, the county will embark on its most expensive project, a $114.6 million job that will increase the county’s inmate beds by 962 and renovate the existing 397-bed jail downtown.

Through the work and preparation leading to the likely November groundbreaking, the county still has the sting of a poorly executed jail project — the High Point jail and courthouse — which had spiraling costs and many complications during its construction.

That project ballooned from $24 million to nearly $38 million during construction. Delays plagued the job, for which ground was broken in 1986, and the finish deadline was missed by nearly a year, in January 1990. The day before county offices were to move in, a fire filled one floor with smoke.

There was no lasting damage, but nearly everyone connected to the project agrees it took too long and cost too much.

“It became a very tense situation and with regard to those who thought it would not be done properly,” said Dot Kearns, a commissioner during the planning and construction of the High Point courthouse. “It was a very tedious, difficult time.”
Guilford County hopes to avoid such problems this time.

“The county has been very wise and gone through a very laborious and detailed project to get the right contractors on a specialized job, people who have experience in this area,” said David Grantham, the county’s property management director.

The county has bond money in hand, approved by voters. Guilford County has $114.6 million for the new jail project. The High Point project had no such cap.

A wide and deliberate search was used to find a contractor with experience on high-rise, urban jails.

The county is also using a building method that makes a company responsible for finding people to work on a project. The method allows the county to employ the best bidder, instead of the lowest bidder, and it removes the responsibility of cost overruns from the taxpayers.

Balfour Beatty Construction will handle that work and will soon seek bids on the construction. The jobs have been split into 55 projects so that small, local and minority contractors can bid.

After that package is together, commissioners will likely see the plan in October for final approval. The expected November start date would begin a project that is expected to take 40 months to complete.

That’s shorter than it took to raise the smaller jail and courthouse in High Point.

“We’ve touched all the bases to start the project off right,” Grantham said. “We’re looking at hiring the right people.”

In a meeting Aug. 20, the contractor said it had moved its people here to begin preliminary work.

“We’ve painted on the street, the corners of the building,” said John Duke, superintendent for the project. Those marks on sidewalks and the roads near the existing jail show the footprint of what will come.

Even as confidence rides high for the contractor, commissioners can turn down the project if they are unhappy with the bidders Balfour Beatty collects. Commissioners could even choose another contractor.

The process seems to be more carefully planned than the High Point complex.

“We’ve learned from our mistakes,” said Melvin “Skip” Alston, commissioners chairman. “Those things are not going to happen anymore. You’re having more attention brought to the project.”

Contact Gerald Witt at 373-7008 or gerald.witt@news-record.com