Warren E. Thornton Youth Center

Sacramento County’s original 124,000 SF Youth Detention Facility was built in 1964 with a linear housing configuration and centralized support services.  Given both an increase in youth offenders and state correctional restrictions, the county recognized the time had come for a larger and more contemporary facility to decentralize services. 

The county’s solution was to develop self-sufficient housing units that could accommodate services such as dining, education and recreation.  The challenge, once the decision was made to renovate and expand the existing facility, was that all work had to be managed while the facility remained fully operational and maintained a mandated total bed count.

Initially, Heery was hired to provide project management oversight services for the design and construction of two of the four construction packages.  The first two construction packages, completed in 2007, consisted of three new self-sufficient 30-bed housing units containing their own classrooms, medical exam room, indoor and outdoor recreation, dining and staff control areas.  Heery’s role was expanded to full construction program management for phases three and four, which includes the addition of four self-sufficient 30-bed housing units and the renovation of the entire existing facility.