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ATLANTIC CANADA
Local trades construct New Northeast
Nova Scotia Correctional Facility
Canadian Design and Construction Report special feature
Local sub trades and suppliers working for the Bird
Construction Group are constructing a new 81,000 sq.
ft. correctional facility in Priestville, Nova Scotia. The 196-
bed prison has been designed by JDA Architects, with
Eastin Projects Ltd. serving as project manager.
The project, the third and final phase of an overall
$38.5 million initiative, is expected to create more than
70 new permanent jobs and will employ more than 100
construction workers.
The new prison replaces jails in Antigonish and Cum-
berland and serves courthouses in Truro, Amherst, New
Glasgow, Pictou, and Antigonish. It will also provide sup-
port to the Port Hawkesbury Justice Centre. Intended to
house adult males convicted of crimes of two years-less-
a-day as well as remanded individuals, it includes six
housing units and support services including health and
dental suites.
JDA Architects senior architect John Dobbs says his
firm completed the design in 2006/07 after a successful
consultant selection competition. The site selected pro-
vided quick and easy access to medical, police and fire
services, but was also remote.
“Once the site was selected the design was amended
to include code and other changes since the original and
incorporate a decision to expand the cells to move from
single occupancy to the possibility of double,” says
Dobbs. 16 – Fall 2013 — The Canadian Design and Construction Report
This decision increased the building’s footprint by
about 25 per cent, affecting infrastructure and staffing
requirements. Eastin Projects project manager Paul Kelly says the
project is perfectly located. “The building sits on a hill
which had a large plateau in the middle big enough to
accommodate the huge footprint we required,” he said.
“We were able to create distance between the building
and the road and there is a wooded hill behind the build-
ing for screening.”
Dobbs says the entire parcel of land is 80 acres, with
nine acres developed to include the building’s 66,000 sq.
ft. footprint (the housing units are set on two floors), with
required roads and parking.
Kelly says the majority of systems and components
were either local or Canadian, with local trades providing
the expertise. “The high tech hardware came from the
U.S. but the detention doors and frames were made in
Moncton and the concrete and concrete blocks used in
the structure were locally sourced. This is essentially a
homegrown project.”
The project has been constructed with tilt-up technol-
ogy, common in Atlantic Canada. “Bird is very experi-
enced in tilt-up and self-performed the work here,” says
Kelly. “This is a construction methodology very suitable
to a building of this type.”
While concrete is a natural choice for the construction
of correctional facilities, the qualities that make it suit-
able, also create challenges. “Acoustics are always an