DC Department of General Services (DGS) DGS and the Department of Corrections (DOC) have presented concepts for a new DC Jail (1900 Massachusetts Ave. SE) to public meetings over the past few months. The District is in the process of applying to the DC Board of Zoning for approval of design review. This is required because the property is located in the Hill East Zone which has particular design and requirements, such as for setbacks and building height.
The new facility will replace the existing Central Detention Facility (CDF). Mayor Muriel Bowser has committed $463 million over six years from 2025-2030 for the first phase of the annex project.
DOC operates and maintains the 450,000 square foot Central Detention Facility (CDF), usually called DC Jail, which opened in 1976. The adjacent Correctional Treatment Facility (CTF) opened in 1992.
DOC said the project is intended to modernize the facility so it can better prepare the inmates for reentry and that the project will exceed current industry standards.
The proposed building exterior is based on the principles of biophilic design, described by DOC in the application as “a philosophy and architectural practice that connects people with nature in built environments.” The exterior of the building includes three layers. There is a secure barrier, a window wall of glazing and finally, a veil of perforated Coren metal s, held up by a series of paired exterior columns. The window wall of the facility provides access to natural light while controlling visibility in and out of the building. The perforated metal s are designed to “dissolve” from the top to bottom of the building, providing variation throughout the design. The new building will be buffered from the street by landscaped gardens. The focal point of the building will be the public entrance at the Northwestern corner of Building 1 (roughly at the center of the 1900 block of Massachusetts Avenue SE, currently a parking lot).
While the goal is to create a structure that connects people with nature, US Commission of Fine Arts (CFA) asked DOC and DGS to make changes to the designs because of the resemblance to a barrier. CFA ,embers who reviewed the concept at a November 2024 meeting said they were worried the steel will darken over time and that the material, combined with the spikes at the top, would create the appearance of a dark, spiked fence. One commission member said the design “presents as a cage.” DOC told a January public meeting that design is a process and that would be incorporated into a new presentation.
For security reasons, little is known about the interior layout of the building. The new annex will be constructed in two phases, expected to begin in 2027. The first building will be built in the parking lot just north of CTF along an extended Massachusetts Avenue. It will house most of the istrative functions, such as intake and release, re-entry planning, medical services and treatment and spaces as well as facility parking.
A portion of CTF will then be demolished and building two will be constructed in its place, containing housing and spaces. The remaining CTF buildings will be renovated to include kitchens, a laundry, an outpatient clinic and a women’s center as part of a separate but simultaneous renovation project. The two buildings will be connected through an above-grade walkway on the second level of each building. The walkway will be framed in the same corten metal ed scrim that is used elsewhere on the façade.
The current facility is badly in need of improvements. In a February 2021 report, the Center for Court Excellence (CCE) Task Force on A New District Jail recommended that the District implement changes to the justice system including alternatives to incarceration and community investment. These would have shrunk the jail population prior to facility planning.
There have been complaints about cleanliness, plumbing and vermin in the cells, conditions that staff have said are detrimental to rehabilitation. DOC said that since the pandemic, there has been an increase in those incarcerated due to serious felony offenses and a decrease in misdemeanors, the latter of whom would typically stay longer in the jail. In a 2024 statement, ECE said that 17 people died in the DC Jail between January 2023 and June 2024.
of the CCE District Task Force on Jails and Justice heard this timeline last May. In June, they issued a statement that objected to the timeline, saying the DOC should prioritize the individuals who are currently living in the facility. “Plans for a new general population “tower” – to which most of the individuals in CDF would be moved – is not scheduled for completion for a decade (in 2034), and currently is unfunded,” the statement reads. “There is a need to address the culture and conditions in the current jail,” the statement continues. CCE urged the District to make a plan to keep the inhabitants of the jail safe while the new facility is constructed.
Anthony Petty, Co-President of Neighbors for Justice, a Hill East non-profit that works to and advocate for neighbors living in the DC Jail, said that he was glad the project is moving forward. He says that a principal concern is for the people in maximum security, who, Petty says, are often stuck in their units for most of the day and provided insufficient programming, education or mental health services.
“They need something to make a better start to life after being in jail,” Petty said. Another concern is whether the District residents currently incarcerated could be brought back to DC to serve their sentences. Being near family changes the way they see things, Petty said. “You want to be who your family can be proud of,” he said.
As for the exterior, Petty said he has confidence that whatever happens, the building will be nice to look at. But, as with most things, it’s what’s inside that counts, he said. “It may look better from the outside, but we all know what’s going on inside,” Petty said. It’s the system and the practices that are key. “You can change the building. But if you don’t change the mindset of the people working inside of it, then it’s not going to make that big a difference,” he argued.
DOC and DGS say the design phase of the project is estimated to last about two years. Construction on building 1 could begin in late 2027 and is expected to take about three years. After a transition and activation process 2030-31 construction of building 2 will begin with demolition of a portion of CDF.
You can follow the project at newcorrectionalfacility.dc.gov.
