Larimer County
Alternative Sentencing
2307 Midpoint Drive | Fort Collins | CO
The new Larimer County Alternative Sentencing Department houses the Work Release and Work Ender programs, Pretrial Services and general administrative functions. As a critical component of the criminal justice system in Larimer County, these programs provide an alternative to incarceration and imprisonment for first time offenders. The Architects' Studio is currently designing a 50,000 square foot addition to the building to increase overall capacity and opportunities for gender specific and trauma responsive programming.
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The Work Release program houses offenders for an average of two months, during which time they reside in the facility other than for the purpose of employment. The Work Ender program offers offenders a way to serve their sentence through a series of overnight stays, during which they perform useful labor in the community. Both programs focus on rehabilitation in lieu of incarceration, and offer significant savings in daily costs over traditional secure inmate housing.
A series of collaborative design charrettes conducted with the design team, Larimer County Facilities and the Alternatives program staff were used to carefully program the 53,500 square foot, two-story building. As a result, the building supports the unique needs and processes of the Alternative Sentencing program. Since occupying the new facility, commissioned studies have shown a marked decrease in offender recidivism, fewer conflicts between offenders and staff, and a heightened sense of safety and comfort throughout the facility.
The project incorporates a high-performance building envelope and numerous sustainable and energy efficient design features and obtained a LEED Gold certification, one of the first for a correctional facility in the region. Extensive site improvements provide for enhanced way finding and pedestrian and vehicular connections to the building.
“Collaboration, empowerment, and facilitation. Though not unique, this integrated design process was the most valuable strategy we used in the project. As a team, we knew the only way we were going to achieve our goals was to empower each other and collaborate.
We had a really good team from start to finish, both internally and externally.”
A LEED Gold building provides offenders in Larimer County with alternatives to incarceration
LOCATION
2307 Midpoint Drive,
Fort Collins, CO
CLIENT
Larimer County
Criminal Justice Services
SIZE
53,500 SF | 2 ST
COMPLETION
Construction Completion | 2012
SERVICES
Architecture, Interior Design, Site Planning, Programming, Entitlement
AWARDS
USGBC LEED Gold Certification
