Food Service Kitchen

A Kitchen That Serves 900

This complex rebuild for a San Diego correctional facility began with demolishing even the slab.

The main kitchen for San Diego’s Metropolitan Correction Center has been repaired many times since the facility was built in 1974. But by 2021, it had deteriorated down to its drains.

Precision designed and constructed a new $4.5 million kitchen in its place, including work that encompassed every detail of a complex build: Demolishing and removing the entire kitchen (walls, slab, floor drains, waste and plumbing lines, and equipment). Executing all construction documents for BOP approval (demolition, new floor plan, kitchen elevations) and managing all permits. Pouring an 8-inch concrete slab on fill and coating it with waterproof urethane flooring. Replacing the plumbing and drainage lines, all floor drains, grease trap, and waste lines. Installing new drywall with 10-foot stainless-steel wainscoting, new ventilation hoods, and ceilings. Building a new wash station, relocating gas and electrical lines, adding new hot- and cold-water piping. Installing new switches, outlets, and fixtures. And finally, connecting all the equipment.

The 3,500-square-foot kitchen prepares meals for the 900 men and women housed in the 23-floor, short-term facility. Extensive coordination was required to ensure safety and security of the building occupants, while transferring large amounts of material in and out of the facility. Workers complied with detailed Homeland Security directives, including background and fingerprint checks, restricted work hours, and daily security screenings and inventories of tools.

The six-month project was completed on time and at cost with no overruns, in accordance with all regulations, and with high quality ratings from the Federal Bureau of Prisons.