Bureau County Law Enforcement Center

PRINCETON, IL

Bureau County is a rural west-central county with a population of about 33,000 people. The current Sheriff’s Office and Jail was completed in 1973 with a capacity of 15-beds, and double bunking those cells in the 1980’s expanded the housing capacity to 33 persons in-custody. Studies dating back to 2007 noted the jail has become overcrowded, too small and unsafe, and fails to comply with a number of state and national standards. Bureau County has since looked at various options for expansion on-site – when a very great opportunity presented itself to the county and the county took advantage. The former Bureau County Republican newspaper office and production center a 21,000 SF office and warehouse was purchased for $37/SF including the existing office furniture.

Client: Bureau County

Type: GOVERNMENT, justice center

Size: 37,100 GSF, 21,000 SF remodel

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BKV Group completed a study to show how the existing facility could be reused for a sheriff’s office, women’s housing and housing support spaces including a kitchen and laundry, and add a 100-bed male housing addition. The reuse of and remodeling of the building with an addition provided a cost savings of more than $3.3M versus new construction. The building was purchased using funds from a sale of a previous county owned nursing home, however, a referendum to design and construct the new Jail and Sheriff’s Office project was necessary.

Multiple previous referendums for a new jail had failed with the electorate voting 80% no each time. For this new effort, BKV Group worked with the Sheriff and County Board to develop a new strategy and plan using a five step program: 1) campaign due diligence, 2) strategic planning of the campaign, 3) messaging strategies, 4) collateral development, and 5) creating a speaker’s bureau / schedule to educate the public on the facts of the ask. The outcome of the election is the referendum passed with 54% of the electorate approving the project.