Wayne County testing Gratiot jail site to complete stalled construction in Downtown Detroit

County executive says Gratiot is the most cost effective site for new jail

DETROIT – Wayne County hired a contractor to evaluate the condition of its stalled jail construction site in Downtown Detroit. 

The county hired Mannik & Smith Group, Inc. for a complete structural condition assessment of the project, which has gone untouched since 2013. 

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Mannik will assess the structural integrity of the partially-built jail halted by the previous administration. Working with its Owner’s Representative, Carter Goble Associates LLC.

RELATED: Wayne County has plan in place to build failed jail

The county also recently issued a Request for Qualifications with the goal of issuing a design-build Request for Proposals no later than January. These are the steps needed to hire a company to finish building the jail. 

“Gratiot remains the most cost and time effective option for the jail and these steps continue our progress in moving toward completion of the jail on Gratiot,” said County Executive Warren Evans. “We believe the site is structurally sound, but confirming this belief is an essential part of the process to complete the jail.”

The structural assessment is expected to be completed by late November. This will be the first such testing performed by the county on the site since the project was halted in June 2013. Under the previous administration, an estimated $151 million was spent in construction, acquisition and design of the jail.

The RFQu, released on Sept. 23, is aimed at identifying pre-qualified entities to participate in the RFP. Interested companies have to submit a response to the RFQu by Nov. 15. The county will then select the most qualified responders to the RFQu who will be permitted to submit a bid in response to the RFP. 

“We need to be able to recruit the best possible design-build contractors to complete this jail and do not want to send any mixed messages to contractors.  We intend to complete the jail on Gratiot,” Evans said.