Joint Processing Facility Receives LEED Certification

The new Joint County/City Processing Center in Houston, Texas, consolidates all Houston Police Department and Harris County Sheriff’s Office intake processing operations into one modern, efficient, and sustainable facility.

With three full floors and a basement level and secure tunnel connection to other county jail facilities, the 246,000-square-foot facility serves the nation’s third largest county jail system, intaking and releasing approximately 800 to 900 individuals per day. In addition to inmate processing, the facility includes a full medical clinic, a 552-bed short-term assessment level as well as basement holding areas with a secure tunnel connecting the other county detention facilities.

The project incorporates numerous environmental and sustainable elements and is officially LEED certified through the USGBC. Credits of note for the facility include: 43% savings of water usage (or 3.8M gallons/annually); 13% energy efficiency through mechanical systems; use of LED light fixtures throughout; 88% of all construction waste was diverted from landfills to be recycled; and over 12% of the total building materials includes recycled content. Due to the critical functions of the building, the project included full commissioning services for all mechanical, electrical and fire protection systems including the emergency power generation systems.  

In addition, all major processing areas and housing areas include an abundance of natural light, unique for a detention facility, through large expanses of windows incorporated into the exterior envelope. This feature, coupled with the use of calming colors in the building interiors, aids in the creation of a normative environment for both detainees and staff.