Joliet OKs contract to assess prison

Architects and engineers will assess the potential for opening up five buildings to visitors at the Old Joliet Prison.

Klein and Hoffman Inc. was hired to analyze conditions at the administration building, east and west cell blocks, chapel and hospital.

The buildings were selected because of their potential interest to visitors, said Steve Jones, deputy city manager for Joliet.

“There are buildings – like the hospital, administration building and the chapel – where we think there’s tourist value,” Jones said.

The prison, formerly the Joliet Correctional Center, opened in August for public tours and other activities.

Klein and Hoffman, an architectural and structural engineering firm, was hired for $74,000 and will head a team of engineers and architects that will include historical experts.

The Joliet City Council on Tuesday approved the contract, which will cost the city $12,600. The Joliet Area Historical Museum, which conducts tours and manages events at the prison, will contribute $9,600. A state grant will reimburse the city for $51,840.

Joliet is leasing the prison from the state on rent-free terms designed to give the city an opportunity to open the site up for tourism and assess restoration potential for buildings that have fallen into decay since Joliet Correctional Center shut down in 2002.

The popular response to opening the prison to tours and more has prompted city officials to consider acquisition of the site.

“Our ability to take this off [the state’s] hands depends on our ability to get a sense of what it will take to put the buildings in safe and tour-ready condition,” Jones said.

The assessment also will cover a brick stack at the prison power house because of concern about the structure’s condition.

The assessment only covers a fraction of the buildings at the prison.

The Klein and Hoffman proposal lists about 30 other buildings and structures ranging from a vocational school and mule barn to a wooden mobile trailer and interior fencing that could be assessed at a higher price.