Ribbon Cutting Marks Completion of Harris County Joint County/City Processing Center

HOUSTON - Clark Construction, joint venture partner Horizon Group International, and representatives from Harris County and the City of Houston including Sheriff Ed Gonzalez, Mayor Sylvester Tuner, and County Judge Lina Hidalgo, gathered on January 31 to celebrate the completion of the Harris County Joint County/City Processing Center.

The Joint Processing Center replaces the existing undersized and aging Inmate Processing Center and centralizes inmate processing operations for both the Houston Police Department and the Harris County’s Sheriff’s Office.

“This streamlined, expedited booking process is a true game-changer for Harris County law enforcement families,” said Sheriff Ed Gonzalez. “Every minute an officer spends escorting a prisoner through the intake process is another minute that they’re off the street keeping our neighborhood safe.”

The Joint Processing Center is located in downtown Houston, Texas. The 246,000-square-foot facility will serve the nation’s third largest county jail system.

Clark performed 12 months of preconstruction services before breaking ground in January 2016 on the $82 million project. The phased construction project consisted of a basement with two tunnels to connect to existing and future jails, joint Sheriff's and HPD processing departments, County and Municipal Courtrooms, inmate holding cells and housing dormitories, and medical/mental health screening and re-entry facilities unique to inmate processing.

The new Harris County Joint County/City Processing Center started processing inmates on Saturday, February 2.