Leaders running the Northern Virginia Juvenile Detention Center (200 S. Whiting Street) are poised to release an Invitation For Bids (IFB) to renovate the cells housing dozens of children.
NVJDC Commission Chair John Lawrence tells ALXnow that the body will vote Sept. 15 to allow the jail’s executive director, Johnitha McNair, to put out the IFB to demolish 60 concrete slabs inside the cells that are used for bedding and tables, as well as repainting walls and replacing flooring with a budget not to exceed $250,000.
“The idea by doing the authorization the way it’s set to be done next week, we’re authorizing Johnitha to go put the bid out,” Lawrence said. “When she gets bids back, she can pick the most responsive and responsible bidder and then sign the contract and get moving, as long as it’s below the price that we set.”
The Commission will also soon vote on allowing McNair to buy polycarbonate Norix Furniture detention-grade bed frames with built-in storage.
“Ideally, we would put the invitation for bid right after our meeting next week, and give contractors until the end of September,” Lawrence said. “I want things coming out starting in October.”
The detention center was built in 1958 and is regulated by the Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice and overseen by the Juvenile Detention Commission. The Commission consists of two members from Arlington, one from Falls Church, and two from Alexandria. It houses dozens of youth with serious offenses and behavioral issues from the three jurisdictions, which significantly contribute toward its funding.
The facility houses dozens of children, as well as at-risk youth living in court-mandated, unlocked shelter care. National Capital Treatment & Recovery, a substance abuse recovery program, also uses one unit.
