Who is the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition?

Our mission is to reverse the trend of mass incarceration in Colorado. We are a coalition of nearly 7,000 individual members and over 100 faith and community organizations who have united to stop perpetual prison expansion in Colorado through policy and sentence reform.

Our chief areas of interest include drug policy reform, women in prison, racial injustice, the impact of incarceration on children and families, the problems associated with re-entry and stopping the practice of using private prisons in our state.

If you would like to be involved please go to our website and become a member.


Thursday, January 17, 2008

Cost Of Jail Soars Above Estimates

The costs to build Denver's new courthouse and jail now are $286.3 million, an increase of about $70 million over original estimates.

Still, city officials say they can absorb the new price increase.

In June, the city projected the cost of the Justice Center complex to come in at $265.6 million, up from the original $214 million contract the city has with Hensel Phelps Construction Co.

Bill Vidal, the city's public works director, said the June amount was always an estimate, and that a more detailed analysis produced the final cost projection that has risen an additional $20.7 million.

Vidal was one of several city officials who Monday briefed a Denver City Council committee on the project.

"We're very proud of the product we're going to deliver," Vidal said. "We're going to deliver a great, great product to our citizens."

The increase in cost will be absorbed through increased premiums from the sale of bonds and interest earning and other contingency funds.

The cost would have been even higher, but city officials came up with another $22 million in cost-saving measures during negotiations with the contractor.

Vidal and City Engineer Leslie Thomas assured council members that none of those revisions will substantially diminish the appearance of the project. The changes include using terrazo instead of porcelain tile in public areas in the courthouse. Also included in those changes were the streamlining of mechanical and electrical systems and a delay in the installation of a an extra freight elevator.


The Denver Post

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

how can the city of Denver justify an expenditure of 265 million for a cop shop, jail, when your state and the nation is in a recession. Also the facility wouldnt be needed at all if you would send all your illegal MEXICANS home.

Andrew Oh-Willeke said...

Public works projects boost the economy during a recession (which we are not yet in, in any case).

The city would have been sued to require a larger jail anyway, it has the second most overcrowded jail in the nation.

And, undocumented Mexican immigrants have much lower incarceration rates than native born Americans.