A revised plan for a new $ 650 million men’s prison in Sioux Falls, SD, was presented on September 8 by Governor Larry Rhoden (R) with the joint Ventura team of Je Dunn and Henry Carlson named contractor.
The new plan replaces a previous proposal submitted by fOMERER GOV. Christ Noem This provided for a $ 825 million installation to be built in Lincoln’s rural county. Neighbors opposed and rejected in February 2025 by state legislators who considered it too expensive.
Rhoden convened a prison working group of the project that developed the new plan and the state legislature is scheduled to vote on the proposal on September 23.
The new prison would be built on 176 hectares in Benson Road, in the north -west of Sioux Falls, and would have more than 1,000 cell beds, 300 bedroom beds and four buildings, with a lifelong life of 100 years. The primary material would be concrete.
In a letter to the state, Vance McMillan, senior vice president of the Je Dunn Construction and Henry “Chip” Carlson, owner of Henry Carlson Construction, wrote “We are sure that the proposed installation, located in Sioux Falls, can be built with estimated $ 650 million.”
The plan reduces the costs by $ 175 million in part by means of a adjustment of 176,000 square meters to the house. Instead of seven smaller cell units, there are three larger ones and a bedroom style unit. The space of the day room is reduced from 70 square feet by inmate to 40. There is a reduction of 5,000 square meters in the entrance space and a reduction of 5,000 square meters in the central utility plan. The professional space has increased by 25,000 square meters.
“These changes give rise to a net reduction of 160,000 square meters of space without cutting the life programming space needed to reduce recidivism,” Rhoden said.
McMillan and Carlson said that the new correctional facility would be designed by Arrington Watkins Architects according to new housing concepts, aimed at creating environments that emphasize rehabilitation, community reintegration and human dignity.
“Specifically, the new housing concepts provided by Arrington Watkins were analyzed and they have been predicted accordingly. The new concepts of the housing unit reflect reduced square images, while maintaining the standards of the American Correction Association (ACA),” they wrote.
The plan must be approved by a two -thirds majority of the legislature.
“There are a few legislators who say” no “, but at the end of the day I have hardly in our legislators and in the legislative process that we can achieve this throughout the finish line,” said Rhoden.
The current South Dakota state penitentiary was built in 1881 before South Dakota became a state in 1889.
