From the Ground Up: Lawrence County Law Enforcement Center

Owner: Lawrence County
Construction manager at risk: Nabholz Construction Corp.
Architect: Elevatus Architecture (Fort Wayne, Indiana)
Engineers: Olsson Inc., civil; JPS Consulting Engineers LLC, structural; Primary Engineering Inc. (Jefferson City), mechanical, electrical and plumbing
Size: 37,423 square feet
Cost: $22 million
Funding source: Voter-approved 3/8-cent sales tax
Estimated completion: May
Project description: A combined home for the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office and jail is coming to fruition in Mount Vernon. Ground was broken in February 2023 on the project, which will replace the 1984-built jail with a modern 120-bed detention center designed to allow two future 96-bed expansions, according to county officials. Voters in November 2021 approved a 3/8-cent sales tax to fund the facility. Bay Mourer, business development officer from Nabholz Construction, said the jail has an innovative justice design, with eight dayrooms and an indoor-outdoor recreation area positioned around a central control room. Six of the dayrooms will be two-tiered with cells for a total of 104 beds, and two of them will be single-level with 16 dorm-style beds. The county has contracted with Nabholz to use the construction management at-risk procurement method for the project, which Mourer said is on time and on budget. Other consultants involved in the project are Accurate Controls Inc. (Ripon, Wisconsin), for security electronics, and Vorndran & Associates Inc. (Fort Wayne, Indiana), for food service.