A new video by construction company Tutor Perini offers the first glimpses of the Manhattan Detention Center, a proposed 16-story jail at 124-125 White Street in Chinatown, Manhattan. Led by design-build organization Gramercy Group Inc., the $3.8 billion project will stand 295 feet tall on the site of the now-demolished Manhattan Detention Complex (MDC) infamously known as “The Tombs,” and will span 1.25 million square feet. The property is bound by Walker Street to the north, the Manhattan Criminal Court Building to the south, Baxter Street to the east, and Centre Street to the west.
The video screenshots below show the conceptual plans for the forthcoming structure, which is currently in the final stages of approval. While only a portion of the exterior is visible, the fenestration appears composed of a grid of stepped paneling framing windows in multi-story increments, as well as sections of expansive floor-to-ceiling glass. The most distinctive design element is a plaza cutting between Baxter and Center Streets that is partially covered by beams and pedestrian bridges. This space is shown adorned with trees, raised planters, and seating along a meandering pathway.
124-125 White Street. Conceptual video courtesy of Tutor Perini.
124-125 White Street. Conceptual video courtesy of Tutor Perini.
124-125 White Street. Conceptual video courtesy of Tutor Perini.
124-125 White Street. Conceptual video courtesy of Tutor Perini.
The main entrance will be positioned slightly above street level within a broad-stepping recess that matches the aesthetics of the window frames above. The surrounding walls will be clad in glass interspersed with aluminum paneling, and this exterior treatment is shown continuing along the sides of the pedestrian corridor.
124-125 White Street. Conceptual video courtesy of Tutor Perini.
124-125 White Street. Conceptual video courtesy of Tutor Perini.
124-125 White Street. Conceptual video courtesy of Tutor Perini.
Additional interior views show a light, open atmosphere with warm wood paneling intended to convey a less foreboding impression than its predecessor. The first four stories are planned to contain a community center and retail space, followed by the jail facility on levels five through 16.
124-125 White Street. Conceptual video courtesy of Tutor Perini.
124-125 White Street. Conceptual video courtesy of Tutor Perini.
The new facility is part of a citywide effort to accommodate the closing of Rikers Island, which is scheduled to cease operations in 2027, with detention facilities in each borough except for Staten Island. However, this date will likely be pushed back given that none of these facilities are close to completion.
Demolition of the former MDC concluded last summer at a projected cost of $125 million. The new MDC is slated for completion by August 11, 2032 and will be constructed in a collaboration between Los Angeles-based Tutor Perini and O&G Industries.
Subscribe to YIMBY’s daily e-mail
Follow YIMBYgram for real-time photo updates
Like YIMBY on Facebook
Follow YIMBY’s Twitter for the latest in YIMBYnews
Everything looks good except for the s*x toy bollards out front.
We’re censoring the word sseexx now?
Weird.
What are there children reading this blog?
More security I suppose, or are they going to transfer the prisoners there?
“The first 4 floors, a community center, and then the jail facility on floors 5 thru 16″…surreal.
..and I guess the incarcerated get a 24 hour ‘doorman’, I’m jealous.
Manhattan should not waste space for jails.
Basically make it twice the height and build low income and middle income apartments from floors 17 to 32 .,
Housing, not jails.
Gramercy Group is the demolition contractor, not design/build.
“Expansive floor to ceiling glass” is not something normally seen in a jail. Maybe that’s why the upper floors are obscured in the renderings.
It’s atrocious to spend $3.8 BILLION on jails, when this could be put into public health like housing, healthcare, & education to help people not end up there in the first place.
I’m all for making the building and the lobby attractive however placing retail and community space in the building would seem to be contrary to the security mission of keeping those detained in…why because all someone has to do is place a incendiary device by walking into leased retail or the unsecured plaza, walk away, and an evacuation becomes necessary.
I still can’t believe the city didn’t buy out that POS senior citizens building facing Walker. It’s already been a nightmare demolishing buildings around it and there has been more than one incident of damage to the building. A whole block assemblage is ideal for a number of reasons.
A jailbreaker terror group could also Seal boat up to Rikers, create some chaos and leave with some bad dudes. I don’t see that happening. This jail isn’t going to be holding international political prisoners, it’s going to be holding nitwits, thieves, assaulters and rapists awaiting trial… and hopefully one day DJT.
@Kent Chrisman
The foggy renderings show a decent design, but I suspect the inside will be another hell hole just out of cultural habit.
This jail dispersal plan is bad for everyone:
– Neighborhoods that will see their property values decline and co-criminal visitors increase. Plus, escapes, riots and other future notorious behaviors making the nightly news.
– Guards who will now have to navigate narrow stairs when responding to trouble.
– Prisoners who won’t have the outdoor space they currently enjoy on Riker’s Island – which could also be used to create a FAR better campus, as well as job training that can’t take place in a vertical tower. Oh, and since 6,000+ prisoners can’t fit into 4 jails designed to hold 4,160 prisoners, the rest will be shipped upstate, where there is plenty of empty space, but…
– Bad for prisoner families, who won’t be able to access them in distant, rural and hard-to-access places (at least without a car, which most NYC residents don’t have).
There were wonderful, beautiful redesigns for Rikers Island that would have met the needs of prisoners and the public alike, with more security (it’s an island with one access point!) and incentive options to “go straight” too. But the city chose decarceration above all else, and it won’t even do that. Crime is too high and MORE prisoners are expected, not less.
Did you get your crystal ball on amazon or through the sharper image catalog?
You are aware that there has been a jail at this site since 1838, right?
You need a jail of some sort adjacent to the courts to hold prisoners awaiting trial. Rikers Island is currently used in this primary capacity, though it would make much more sense to not have to bus defendants to and from lower Manhattan.
This looks great, the hysterical NIMBYs need should have nothing more to say. Rikers is decrepit and dangerous and must be closed. Bravo to the city for keeping this progress going despite the insanity.
“Iron bars do not a prison make.” But they sure help, eh doc ??
How many cells will be affordable
Much more Humane than Rikers Island that’s for sure
It is often overlooked that Rikers Island is part of the Bronx though the only access is through Queens. It make sense to have jails near the courthouses. Too much time is wasted transporting people over long distances.
Who dreamed up this crackpot idea?
Smart folks. Try trusting them.
The price tag seems crazy. How does this compare to a jail built upstate?
Things around us are probably no different from a police station, just because of the word that there is a case or the law has been broken: Thanks to Michael Young.
This is costing 3K per square foot. Much more than the average billionaires row condo construction costs
An abomination designed to destroy Chinatown. And democrats wonder why Chinese-Americans more and more are voting republican.
First, there is no question that the facilities at Rikers are awful and something needed to be done, but this was not the answer.
What should have been done:
1) More court rooms and judges to clear out as many cases as possible. Rikers was never designed to be a prison where one served out a sentence. Once sentenced, a convict goes to a state prison. Many people held at Rikers are there because of the insane backlog of cases.
2) Rikers Island is a bit over 400 acres. Find a nice spot there and build a modern detention facility. The current population of Rikers is about 10,000. Hopefully, item one can reduce that number, but that’s what would be needed. Once complete, demolish everything else on the island.
3) Make sure those additional courtrooms and judges remain so the new Rikers Detention Facility doesn’t become the overcrowded hell hole that Rikers has been for years.
4) Put whatever money is saved from the projects going on now*, and put into programs- like schools, mental health, etc. to try and actually lower criminal activity as others here have said.
*now: If this was done now, the city could just sell the site (or even part of it) talked about in the post here. How many millions of dollars would that site be worth?
Why close Rikers went you can just fix it. No one wants a jail in their neighborhood. That’s a waste of billions of dollars.the jails are there anyway, repair them one at a time instead of building jails in the communities one at a time.
$3.8 B for 1.25 M sqft? Math doesn’t make sense unless they’re using granite/marble all the way and some crazy fancy amenities.
Looks more like an office building than a prison