Commission approves revised funding and design for three youth residential centers in Tennessee

The Tennessee State Building Commission on a voice vote approved a revision in project budget funding and the early design phase for three prototypical residential youth development centers presented by the Department of Children’s Services.

Commissioner Margie Quinn asked the commission to approve the revision, saying the plan will provide “three new prototypical residential youth development centers” that include residential, educational, food service, recreational, clinical visitation, maintenance and administration spaces. Quinn identified Woodland Hills in Nashville and two John S. Wilder facilities near Somerville as the project sites and asked for approval of the funding adjustment and early design work.

Felipe Velasquez of A2H, the design firm, said the program uses a repeatable prototype to allow consistent staffing, operations and predictable costs across sites. “At the core of the model, we have our housing pods designed for direct supervision,” Velasquez said, describing circulations and occupiable courtyards intended to preserve visibility and reduce blind spots. He told commissioners the design supports a 1‑to‑3 staff‑to‑youth ratio during the day and 1‑to‑8 at night, and that each campus can be configured as staff‑secure or hardware‑secure depending on need.

Velasquez and Commissioner Quinn gave bed capacities for the campuses: Woodland Hills is planned for 80 beds with infrastructure to expand to 96; at John S. Wilder one building would accommodate 80 (expandable to 96) and the other 48 (expandable to 64). Velasquez said the project completed multiple value‑engineering exercises and was “within the total project budget.” He also stated bid and MACC figures during his presentation; the transcript lists a bid target and a MACC figure that appear inconsistent in formatting and should be treated with caution.

A commissioner raised a question about electronic locks after noting prior problems in Morgan County. Velasquez confirmed the doors are electronic and said the project team would check specifications with Morgan County to avoid repeating the same issues.

The commission approved the requested revision by voice vote after a motion and second. The presentation and approval close the agenda item; no further action items or vote tallies were recorded in the transcript.

Ending: The commission moved to the next agenda items following the approval.