The Goose Creek Correctional Center (GCCC) emulates a small city to better prepare inmates for community reentry upon their release. This medium security prison houses 1,536 inmates throughout the five-building complex.
The entire project team was engaged from the onset in an integrated design-build process, which parallels design and construction within the same project schedule. This approach expedites utility work ahead of architecture and system trim-outs.
The methodology likely took two years off of project delivery over the traditional design-bid-build method, estimates John Yost, GCCC’s maintenance superintendent.
Smart Asset Management
Goose Creek uses Bigfoot, a computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) that coordinates inventory control, repairs, and work and purchase orders. The software solution holds records for 1,700 pieces of equipment for GCCC, from boilers, pumps, and air handlers to maintenance fleet equipment and transport vehicles.
All operating and maintenance manuals and OSHA guidelines are also linked to equipment records, and preventive maintenance tasks are scheduled with automatic reminders.
Yost estimates that GCCC will save at least 20% of normal maintenance costs over a facility similar in size due to more accurate maintenance scheduling, less downtime, and fewer failures.
Sustainability Measures
GCCC prioritized energy conservation by installing high efficiency equipment, including a condensing boiler system and a BAS that adjusts the HVAC according to outside temperatures.
An ozone water treatment is used for laundry, which kills bacteria and germs without hot water.
“Ozone-treated water is one of the best ways to prevent the spread of diseases. It is safer and more cost effective than using bleach,” says Yost. “By using cold rather than hot water, ozone treatment also lowers utility and maintenance costs and can save as much as 30% on water and energy.”
The Alaskan climate creates unique lighting challenges, such as long periods of darkness and reflectivity caused by snow-covered ground. In addition to LED fixtures, the complex uses controls to adjust light levels, says Yost. Operators can turn off specific heads on each pole or every other light pole.
Goose Creek Correctional Center
New Construction
- Owner: Matanuska-Susitna Borough, State of Alaska Department of Corrections
- Architect: kpb Architects
- Design/Build General Contractor: Neeser Construction, Inc.
- Submitter: Smartware Group
Due to its remote location, Goose Creek also includes a water and sewage treatment system. The plant accomplishes in a 300-foot-long building what most cities treat with multiple ponds and lagoons over many acres.
After controlled bacterial action of the waste stream is accomplished, a membrane biologic reactor (MBR) removes particulate matter by filtering out all particles over .02 microns.
The water is further treated to near drinking quality before being leeched back into the ground. Solids are dewatered, mixed with a polymer, turned back into clean dirt, and used as soil enhancement on local hay fields.
With GCCC, the vision of a humane correctional facility to assist Alaskans in their treatment has been realized.
