Checking-In to Brooklyn's 15-story Borough-Based Jail

Checking-in on (and out-of) 275 Atlantic Ave, in Downtown Brooklyn where, controversially, the construction of a new and improved jail is now being built, on the site that formerly housed Brooklyn's Detention Center (BDC). 

The upsizing of BDC, is part of the 2019 Borough-Based Jail program, that would upgrade local facilities in each borough and decommission the aging and financially burdensome, consolidated jail facilities on Rikers Island.

NYC Dept. of Design & Construction is acting as the "developer" with HOK Architects as the architect of record for the 15-story, 712,000 SF structure and future home to 1,040 inmates. The facility will also include a tunnel to the courthouse across the street, community facilities, and services incarcerated or formerly incarcerated. 

From the HOK, "A New Approach to Justice, New York City is replacing Rikers Island, a remote complex long criticized for inhumane conditions. The Borough-Based Jails (BBJ) program establishes a citywide network of four modern, humane and neighborhood facilities—one each in Brooklyn, the Bronx, Manhattan and Queens—located near courts, counsel and services. 

In Brooklyn, that mandate takes the form of a 15-story, 712,150-sq.-ft. and 1,040-bed, facility designed to be smaller in footprint, safer in daily operation and fairer in access. Guided by a design vision the team calls ‘sculpted by light,’ our response conceives it as an exemplary civic building that contributes to its public realm. This approach, part of HOK’s ‘Justice and Dignity by Design’ philosophy, evaluated every decision for its ability to uphold dignity and lower stress. The result is a facility that serves the city while belonging to it."

The new structure replaces an aging building of the same general use, which was built in the 1957 and had a smaller capacity of 815 inmates. A completion timeline has been updated to reflect current progress and depicts substantial completion in the Spring of 2029.