Bids open for $78.4M juvenile correctional facility in Milwaukee

Construction bids for a juvenile correctional facility in Milwaukee are open, with the state estimating construction costs of nearly $55 million. The facility will likely open in 2026, years after legislators’ deadline to replace two juvenile centers in northern Wisconsin.

The new facility will replace Lincoln Hills School for Boys and Copper Lake School for Girls, both located outside Irma in northern Wisconsin, according to the Wisconsin Department of Corrections. In August 2023, the state approved the $78.4 million project, which is meant to house youths who are serving sentences as serious offenders. However, lawmakers originally set the delivery date for 2021 and lack of funding caused delays.

General prime contractor bids for the one-story, around 71,000-square-foot correctional facility at 7930 West Clinton Ave. will close May 8; bids for mechanical, electrical and plumbing contractors will close April 24...