Western Virginia Regional Jail

The Western Virginia Regional Jail (WVRJ) is a LEED®-Certified 264,000 SF facility. Built by a coalition of four localities — the counties of Franklin, Montgomery, and Roanoke and the city of Salem — the maximum security prison has eliminated overcrowded and potentially unsafe conditions that existed at the jails of the four partnering jurisdictions.

Environmental features were incorporated into the design to minimize the jail’s impact on its site, which is adjacent to the Roanoke River. Promoting water conservation, a roof drainage system works in conjunction with storm-water recycling to provide water for the jail’s laundry operations. A vacuum-assisted waste system also reduces water consumption and prevents inmates from damaging the facility by allowing staff to monitor and control its components. Together, the water savings of these two features are estimated to be more than 10 million gallons annually.

Constructing a building to LEED standards can increase costs up to 5 percent; however, AECOM was able to incorporate the chosen green features into the regional jail’s design so that project costs increased by only 1.2 percent.

Shockey finished the WVRJ ahead of time and under budget.