The city has tapped a joint venture led by AECOM to oversee the development of four new correctional facilities to replace Rikers Island, in a contract valued at $107.4 million.
The New York City Department of Design and Construction awarded AECOM and Philadelphia-based Hill International a contract to direct the development of four new jails in Manhattan, Queens, the Bronx and Brooklyn, the engineering giant announced on Wednesday. The joint venture will manage four separate design-build teams who will develop the facilities, which are expected to cost a total of $8.7 billion and each house 1,500 inmates.
In April, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that the prison island would shut down by 2026. According to AECOM, the four jails will mark the city’s first-ever design-build program. Design-build is a method in which architecture and construction teams work in tandem; it’s often touted as time and money saver. Though the state has stopped short of authorizing all city agencies to employ design-build, officials specifically green-lighted use of the method in 2018 for the Rikers replacement project. The city issued a request for proposals in October.
According to the New York Daily News, some City Council members are pushing Albany to extend design-build authority to the city’s Parks Department.