$350 Million SCI Phoenix Facility To Replace Graterford Prison

SKIPPACK TOWNSHIP, PA — The brand new facility that is replacing the 88-year-old Graterford State Correctional Institution is slated to officially open next summer.

A series of delays have postponed the opening of the state of the art SCI Phoenix, which officials say will house even more inmates than Graterford yet will be more cost-efficient.

At $350 million, the project is the most expensive prison in the state, and among the most expensive state facilities of any kind. According to Philly.com, only the Philadelphia Convention Center is more expensive.

Developers, however, tout the long-term savings of SCI Phoenix, saying the efficiency of the project will save taxpayers millions per year.

The 3,422-bed prison, located just east of Graterford, is broken into two major units, SCI Phoenix East and SCI Phoenix West. Both are male facilities. There is also a separate Female Transitional Unit.

Organizers said that the security-level facility will make it simpler and cheaper to transport inmates to and from court.

The male facility contains seven housing buildings, which each contain 144 cells and 282 beds, according to Heery International, the Atlanta-based firm which designed the prison. There are three additional buildings that have 96 beds.

The complex as a whole is one million square feet. Heery said SCI Phoenix represented the largest contract they ever received.

SCI Graterford has been housing inmates since 1929.

Patch file photo