Westville Correctional Facility project sees cost increases

The General Assembly approved $400 million in the 2022 session to demolish and replace the aging Westville Correctional Facility, but that money might not be enough.

The Indiana Department of Correction requested $25 million last week to complete the schematic design for the facility, which can house more than 3,400 offenders, but doesn’t yet have a finalized price tag. The agency needs approval for funding each step of the project even if it stays below the $400 million price tag.

Kevin Orme, the agency’s executive director of construction services, said the project amounts to a replacement of existing beds, not expansion. As population needs change, with more inmates need mental healthcare, drug treatment and physical healthcare, the facility needs to change.

“Will it exceed $400 million? Absolutely,” Orme told the committee. “How much is it going to exceed that? We’ll come up with those numbers.”

He said once the design phase is finished, the agency will return to request construction funding.

“I’d love to give you an aggressive timeframe (but) that depends on how we proceed through the design and if we can get construction funding approval,” Orme said.

The facility, originally a state-run mental health facility opened in 1951, transitioned to a correctional facility in 1979 and, in 1991, the state built an additional 220-bed Maximum Control Complex.

Orme predicted that construction on the project could begin in the fall. The $25 million would also cover site surveying.

With 33 years of experience, Orme said that the “constantly evolving cost overruns” for projects continued to be unpredictable, complicating a final project estimate.

“In 10 months, we’ve seen a 92% increase in roofing projects because of the instability in the… (costs of) materials we use for these repairs,” he said. “When I come back with the construction number, (I want to) put every ounce of my integrity into it and go through every line item.”