Due to the prohibitive impacts of the CDC”s COVID-19 social distancing guidelines, Governor Kay Ivey and the Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) announced on Tuesday a two-week deadline extension for proposal submission in response to the ADOC’s Request for Proposal (RFP) to improve the state’s prison infrastructure. The proposals will now be due on or before May 14.
The decision to extend the proposal submission deadline was made after discussions with the participating developer teams – Alabama Prison Transformation Partners (Star America; BL Harbert International; Butler-Cohen; Arrington Watkins Architects; and Johnson Controls, Inc.) and CoreCivic (CoreCivic; Caddell Construction; DLR Group; and R&N Systems Design) – as they have been hindered from preparing and finalizing their proposals for the three new men’s facilities.
“I am steadfastly committed to the strategic effort to build three new men’s correctional facilities – this ‘Alabama solution’ is a direct result of our dedication to implement actionable solutions that address long-standing challenges facing our prison system,” Ivey said. “Given the unforeseen circumstances associated with COVID-19, it is in the best interest of the state of Alabama to grant this extension so that the developer teams have adequate time to perform required due diligence and to prepare thorough and thoughtful proposals.”
The RFP was published in December 2019. The evaluation of the proposals will be performed by a committee of stakeholders, including representatives from the ADOC and the Alabama Department of Finance, including the Division of Construction Management.
“The spread of COVID-19 has only further demonstrated the critical need for new correctional facilities in Alabama,” added ADOC Commissioner Jeff Dunn. “As we have stated before, overcrowded conditions within the Department’s dilapidated facilities create increasingly challenging circumstances to ensure inmate and staff health and safety. The developer teams expressed the need for an extension – due to work and travel restrictions implemented in the wake of this national health crisis – and we fully supported the extension. Improved prison infrastructure, increased staffing, and stronger rehabilitation programs will allow for transformational results.”
The ADOC plans to announce the successful developer team(s) in late 2020.
