New renderings have been revealed for The Bronx Detention Center at 745 East 141st Street in Mott Haven. Designed by CetraRuddy in collaboration with Lumen Architecture, Urbahn Architects, Transformative Reform Group (TRG), and the New York City Design Department of Construction, the $2.9 billion project is part of the plan to replace Rikers Island with four borough-based detention centers. The Bronx structure will yield 1,040 beds, 20 underground staff parking spaces, and 40,000 square feet of commercial space. The project site is bounded by East 142nd Street to the north, East 141st Street to the south, the confluence of Bruckner and Southern Boulevard to the east, and Concord Avenue to the west.
The main preliminary rendering above and the two below street-level perspectives look north at the new building along Bruckner Boulevard, previewing the expansive glass and rounded corners of the podium levels.
Looking north at 745 East 141st Street.
Looking north at 745 East 141st Street.
The following aerial view shows the irregular massing of the main tower of the detention center, as well as the green roofs atop the podium levels and photovoltaic array on the roof parapet. Landscaping and winding paths will surround the base of the building.
Aerial view of 745 East 141st Street.
Another view looks east from the corner of Jackson Avenue and East 141st Street.
Looking east at 745 East 141st Street.
The public entrance to the facility will be situated at the corner of East 142nd Street and Southern Boulevard.
The public lobby entrance to 745 East 141st Street.
The public lobby entrance to 745 East 141st Street.
A separate community entrance will be located by the corner of East 141st Street and Bruckner Boulevard.
The community entrance for 745 East 141st Street.
Greenery will wrap around the northern, southern, and eastern sides of the ground level, which will also include new seating, bike racks, improved lighting, and a dedicated drop-off and pick-up zone. The first image depicts the walkway along East 141st Street, the second along East 142nd Street, and the third showing the streetscape along Bruckner Boulevard.
Landscaping along East 141st Street.
Landscaping along East 142nd Street.
Landscaping along Bruckner Boulevard.
The following plan view highlights the outline of the landscaping. The western side of the jail facility will be home to large vehicle ramps for the complex, while the remaining sliver of land along Concord Avenue will be used for future residential housing. QRP is serving as the landscape architect.
A plan view of the landscaping layout for 745 East 141st Street.
Interior preliminary renderings below show the public lobby space, which will have seating, lockers, restrooms, charging stations, video displays, vending machines, and a children’s play area.
The public lobby for 745 East 141st Street.
The public lobby for 745 East 141st Street.
The next two images preview the visitor waiting area and the visiting area, which will both have floor-to-ceiling windows for natural illumination.
The visitor waiting area for 745 East 141st Street.
The visiting area for 745 East 141st Street.
The day room, seen below, will feature tables and seating, high ceiling heights, and clear sight lines of the jail cells directly facing the room.
The day room space for 745 East 141st Street.
An enclosed recreational space is shown below that gives a better indication of the appearance of the grated glass curtain wall.
The recreational space for 745 East 141st Street.
The following image previews a typical room with a dormitory-style bed.
A typical cell design for 745 East 141st Street.
The nearest subway from the site is the 6 train at the East 143rd Street-St. Mary’s Street station to the northeast.
Excavation is currently underway at 745 East 141st Street, which was formerly occupied by a surface-level impound lot for the New York Police Department.
The Bronx Detention Center is slated for completion in April 2031. The preliminary renderings were revealed at a community-design workshop held on March 5, 2025.
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This legit looks better than 99% of the buildings being constructed in the Bronx.
Great spot for much needed housing. Will a new building solve NYC’s incarceration woes?
I bet there’s plenty of neighbors saying NIMBY
I live on Southern Blvd, roughly 5-6 blocks away, not very comfortable with a correctional facility being built in that plot of land. This was once the home of the original Lincoln Hospital, which closed in 1976-77 and the opened the new one on 149th street and Morris Ave, the area was then turned into a tow area for cars…they should have built affordable housing in that plot instead of a jailhouse.
Mixed income rather than all “affordable” – but otherwise agreed.
When Will
The Good Citizens of
New York Be Allowed
By Their Masters to Choose What Is Best for Them?
That’s NOT what I signed up for. If this structure is built, it time to find another place to live! NEED MORE HOUSING for the public NOT JAILS! Tear down Rikers and REBUILD IT, right where it is!
This plan is supposed to come with housing but not shown in render.
Looks great !..but I’m sure the ‘detainees’ here won’t give a ‘flying f..k’ how nice it looks.. 😀
This really is a surprisingly good design. Hopefully the infamous culture inside will be much improved too. That can only depend on those in charge. The US still treats prisoners like in the Middle Ages.
did you see the cost $2.9 billion project for Just 1,040 beds, and only 20 Parking spots for staff! zero parking for the public. 40,000 square feet of commercial space. who will rent this space with street side parking only? truly insane taxpayers waste of money. not even a geothermal system, no bike lanes, justification to add tolls to use the streets, we paid for. Lumen Architecture, Urbahn Architects, Transformative Reform Group (TRG), and the New York City Design Department of Construction, should all be ashamed to be called Architecture.
Why should there be parking for the public? It’s a jail
“Just” 1,040 beds, ha. So you want an even bigger jail? Or more jails? It’s near transit, so why would they include a parking garage? Also it should be extremely obvious why the cost is so high, it’s not an affordable housing complex it’s a high-security prison for a borough of nearly 1.5 million people. The fact that they were able to make this (and the others) so normal-looking & integrated into the neighborhood with storefronts, public spaces for visitors, etc. should be commended.
It’s insane to me anyone in NYC would oppose this or any of the other borough-based jails, unless you simply don’t care about human rights.
How are shiny buildings going to stop the extortion and assaults that go on in jails and prisons??? The money would be MUCH better off putting them into the school system to prevent people getting into criminal activity in the first place.
Inmates about to be living better than 80% of the city. All glass basketball court with a view? Amenities galore? What are we doing here guys..
Why so fancy and expensive?
This is the most insane taxpayers waste of money. They’re spendin $16 billion to build 4 detention luxury centers in every borough, instead of building new affordable housing or fixing the subway. Building new detention luxury centers in the most expensive city in the world, instead of building it somewhere upstate, where it would cost a fraction of that. It’s absolutely ludicrous.
The city council of new york city is more concerned of the criminal’s comfort and their rights then the regular people. They have no problem spending seven billion dollars for luxury hotels to house illegals but hey, there is no money for the subway or for the insane homeless everywhere.
These are jails not prisons. The whole point is they need to be close tonthe county courthouse which isbthe charging jurisdiction.
I thought that cells usually included a sink and toilet. At first glance, I thought I could see these, but now suspect they are a sort of writing surface and a stool. I cannot imagine the place operating with lavatory passes
Jails have to be built of more solid materials than apartment buildings for obvious reasons. This adds to the cost.
this is nicer than where i live and i pay $5000/mo for a 1 bedroom. ridiculous
Want to be locked in where you can’t choose what to do with yourself or turn on the heat or turn on the ac or take tylanol? It’s not ridiculous.
Way too little parking. Should be internal loading docks for DOC buses and tons of underground parking otherwise there’s going to be so much illegal parking by staff on the surrounding streets.
They can take public transit
Wishful thinking. They won’t. And there will be tons of DOC, NYPD, and other municipal vehicles on the street. They should have built way more parking.
Horrible location. Should have used eminent domain and built this on Concourse Plaza where the movie theater was.
And what about the housing component?
If you look at the plan view on the left side, it’s says “future housing.”
Why ruin Concourse Plaza area which is slowly being revitalized? They just built a new luxury building over there “Bronx Vibe” and another movie theatre has opened where the one that closed was. As someone above noted – Rikers island should have been rebuilt building by building. There is a reason they put the jail there in the first place. Prime real estate is not a place for jails or prisons
The point of the borough based jails was access and proximity to the courts. Concourse Plaza is better for both. Area is already municipal.
This site should have been high density housing entirely.
lmao, how does a jail look nicer than 99% of new apartment buildings going up in The Bronx?
This is De Blasio fiasco.
He pushed this thru as lame duck.
renovate Rikers
Billions upon billions wasted.
Adams kill this ridiculousness
wake up NY taxpayers
Not really