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Juvenile service center plan goes to review process By JILL BRISKEY Jackson County must build a 50,405-foot juvenile service center that will fit into downtown Medford without looking like a jail. County officials think they have conquered the design challenge by using pre-cast concrete, brick and plenty of windows. But their plans will be put to the test today when preliminary sketches are reviewed at the Medford Site Plan and Architectural Review Commission (SPAC) meeting. "It's going to be a very prominent building in downtown Medford," said Deputy County Administrator Dave Kanner. "(SPAC) will take a sweeping look at it." The Jackson County Juvenile Services Center will be built on county-owned land on 10th Street between King and Laurel streets. Kanner said construction on the two-story building could begin in June or July. Its completion date is in 2004. In November, county voters approved a $16.5 million bond to replace the aged and cramped juvenile facility at the South Gateway shopping area. Kanner said that property already has been auctioned off to private developers. Dave Straus of the Medford architectural firm Skelton, Straus and Seibert, said he's pleased with the building's proposed design. Straus said planners who also contributed - DLR Group Architects of Seattle and the local firm Marquess and Associates Inc. - designed a structure that would not add to the trauma of families working their way through the juvenile justice system. "We wanted it to have a little more human feel to it," Straus said. "Yet it's a civic building, too. It needs to last for 100 years. It needs to have that feel about it." The county must gain approval on the designs from SPAC before moving forward. Kanner said the commission will investigate two factors - whether the proposed building complies with city codes and ordinances, and whether it is compatible with nearby buildings. The county also is awaiting the results of a recently completed environmental assessment. A response is expected within 30 days, Kanner added. The county can start taking bids on the project when the study is approved and plans are OK'd by SPAC. The building itself is expected to cost $12.5 million, Straus said. The remaining funds from the bond will be used to pay for fees, permits, equipment and furnishing, parking and other associated costs. Kanner said crews will also build an underground tunnel connecting the juvenile facility to the Jackson County Jail for food and laundry services. Straus said the first floor of the juvenile service center will contain a public area, courtroom and hearing room. It will include a classroom, an intake component and probation and assessment department. On the second floor, Straus said plans call for two detention "pods." Each pod will have 20 beds, a classroom and dayroom. The second floor will include a recreation area without a roof but no windows, a gymnasium and a shelter for kids who haven't violated the law but need immediate housing. The gymnasium and emergency shelter can be converted into detention pods if the need arises in the future, Straus added. Reach reporter Jill Briskey at 776-4485, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.