NEW BEGINNINGS YOUTH CENTER
Owner
DC Department of Real Estate Services
Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services
Location
Anne Arundel County, MD
LEED
LEED Silver
Scale
84,000 sf
Budget
$36 Million
Services
Programming, Master Planning, Bridging Documents, Commissioning
Project Type
Design – Build
DC Department of Real Estate Services and the Department Youth Rehabilitation Services hired BELL Architects to guide the evolution of a new facility through the programming, planning, site selection, and design process for New Beginnings Youth Center. A new state-of-the-art, 60-bed facility was designed to replace the original facility and followed a new model for juvenile justice reform. The key aspect of this model was to create smaller ‘home-like’ settings and encourage positive behavior through peer pressure and more staff-to-student interaction. The project was envisioned for outdoor athletic facility; basketball, football, baseball, running track, along with indoor landscaped courtyard with basketball courts. The five building campus had indoor activities that catered to administrative offices, food service, education, vocational training, auditorium, health care, gymnasium and vehicle maintenance.
The design team analyzed four possible locations for the new facility on the 888-acre federal property and created an evaluation matrix to allow the client to make an informed decision based on weighted factors, such as access, utilities, historic and environmental resource protection, capital and operation costs, and design opportunities. Design and facility program included researching best practices in other jurisdictions and integrating them into a LEED Gold design, appropriate for the needs of DC’s Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services.
BELL Architects provided a variety of services for this project, ranging from Programming and Facility Planning, Site analysis, Evaluation and selection matrix, Section 106 Process of National Historic Preservation Act, Phase II Archaeology Study, Concept and Schematic Design, Bridging Documents, to Peer review and Commissioning.