The Richmond City Justice Center in Richmond, Virginia was a fifty-year-old jail that was deteriorating. It suffered severe maintenance problems and chronic overcrowding, at times reaching nearly twice its intended occupancy. The jail was to be rebuilt as an eight-level detention center with two administration levels and six housing levels that provide over 400,000 square feet of usable floor space. Seeking a distinct budget and schedule advantage over other prospective systems, a joint venture team developed unique framing approaches for the complex building, which required strong, forced-entry resistant construction that would be economical, durable and easily maintained.

The new detention facility was set on the same site as the existing city jail and demanded construction that wouldn’t disrupt the facility's 24/7 operation. As an urban jail project, it also needed to achieve an appropriate building aesthetic consistent with the community. In a free case study from the PCI Mid-Atlantic Chapter, see how a total precast concrete structure achieved an economical and aesthetically consistent building on a shortened schedule.