THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, July 9, 1996 TAG: 9607090230
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JUNE ARNEY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 71 lines
The city's new 80-bed juvenile detention center was completed eight months ago, but it has sat unused and may remain unoccupied until what the city calls major construction problems are fixed.
Officials say they will not finalize the $7.1 million project until the builder removes fungi and mold that the city says make the building uninhabitable.
``We're adamant that we're not going to use the building until we can be assured that it is safe,'' said Suzanne Puryear, the city's director of human services.
The building, which was to open last November, will alleviate a serious overcrowding problem at the existing detention home. The current Norfolk Juvenile Detention Center, at 1313 Child Care Court, typically houses 70 to 72 youths a day in space designed for 42.
``We're working with the contractor to resolve the problem,'' Puryear said of the new facility, located nearby on Lowery Road. ``There was water damage that caused fungi and mold and could have bad health effects. We're going to err on the side of caution here.''
The city hired a consultant to inspect the building, who recommended the removal of the contaminated materials before the building is occupied. Identifying the problem and devising a solution has been a time-consuming process.
CBC Enterprises Inc., the contractor for the new facility, received a letter Monday outlining the city's request.
The letter asked them ``to commence removal and replacement of porous interior surfaces and systems suspected to support mold and fungal growth'' at the detention center.
``CBC's construction contract for this facility did not contemplate remediation work of this nature; however, CBC is proceeding, under protest, to comply with the city's instructions and perform this additional work,'' according to a news release the city issued Monday.
``The cause of the fungus and mold is not simple, and the solution is not simple,'' said Douglas Bevelacqua, chief executive of CBC Enterprises. ``We acknowledge that there is mold and fungus in the building. That is irrefutable. The problem is no one knows how much of this is bad. Everything that exists in this building exists all around us.''
Bevelacqua said regulations regarding such matters are only now emerging. So far, there is no guidance on the issue of fungal growth, he said.
He could not provide an estimate of how long it might take to solve the problem. City officials said it could take months.
There are several possibilities for how the fungi and mold was introduced into the building, according to the contractor. The growth is not readily visible and cannot be found through air tests, he said.
Bevelacqua likened the growth to mold in a shower. Even the experts disagree on how much of a problem fungus and mold present and how to get rid of them, he said.
The new building features a state-of-the-art central command center with housing designed in pods.
In December 1990, architects recommended a new building, saying it would be too expensive to renovate the existing detention center, which lacked electronic surveillance and bars on some windows. Several times, teenagers had escaped from the current building. Some had been accused of serious crimes, including murder. ILLUSTRATION: CANDICE C. CUSIC
The Virginian-Pilot
The new juvenile detention home, shown below, is designed to house
80 youths. The existing center packs 70 to 72 youths a day into a
space designed for 42. But mold and fungi - a possible health hazard
- make the new facility uninhabitable, officials say. The city is
asking the contractor to correct the problem before it pays the $7.1
million bill. by CNB