The James A Musick Facility Jail Expansion included adding two new housing structures on the 94-acre property at Irvine’s edge. Bergelectric, under the guidance of Bernards Bros., Inc. (GC), helped to add 896 beds, boosting the jail’s capacity to 2,208. The new construction replaced the existing mix of permanent buildings and repurposed wooden barracks and tents that were added during the inmate boom of the 1980s and 1990s. “This is a significant milestone in our ongoing efforts to reform our custody operations, move forward the integrated services plan, and ultimately help inmates achieve mental stability and sobriety while in our care and custody,” Sheriff Don Barnes said in a statement on May 5, 2020.
The facility was named after the city’s on-duty sheriff from 1947 to 1975 and was used to produce crates full of eggs, vegetables, and fruits. It is also known as The Farm since inmates grew food, which at one point fed the county’s jails. The primary use of the property’s bordering fence was not to keep the inmates in but to keep the cattle out. In recent years, most of the agricultural aspects of this facility have ceased.
Since 1963, James A. Musick Jail Facility has been a jail where the city of Orange County sent its low-level offenders, such as drunk drivers, possessors of drugs, and those who skipped out on child support.
Bergelectric’s use of technology during the design/construction process and in its employee community structure was critical to its success. Bergelectric utilizes the most advanced Building Information Modeling (BIM) software and cloud-based sharing to ensure all aspects of construction projects are available to employees and that projects can be accurately developed and built with minimal disruption to other trades. This technology combination enables employees to access the most up-to-date information and resources, whether in the office or the field, and empowers all project records to be easily organized and updated.
A compounding factor at James A. Musick was that the owner replaced the original A/E design firm with a new A/E firm for construction services. Additionally, an existing correctional facility adjacent to this project had been required to remain in operation throughout construction without interruption.
Many aspects of this project are unique. First and foremost is the electronic security system. The security system required thousands of coordination hours to coordinate the pathways properly. Additionally, the occupancy groups—incarcerated individuals—could not evacuate during an emergency, requiring unique considerations to all life safety systems. Another unique component to completing this project was nearly every wall was either grout-filled CMU or cast-in-place concrete, requiring a high level of coordination, along with extensive quality control and assurance measures that were taken to prevent infrastructure from being placed in the incorrect location or missed entirely.
Building a jail expansion is a unique experience. Our team of electricians and support staff have stepped up and embraced the unusual circumstances. We are all very proud of the results.