DATE: Friday, September 5, 1997             TAG: 9709050604

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B5   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY KATRICE FRANKLIN, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: SUFFOLK                           LENGTH:   46 lines

2 COMPANIES BID TO BUILD HIGH-SECURITY CENTER FOR JUVENILES BOTH WANT TO BUILD ON HOSIER ROAD IN SUFFOLK; ONE ALREADY HAS BOUGHT ITS LAND.

On a rural stretch of road where emus wander and horses roam, two corrections companies are seeking state permission to build a private juvenile high-security facility.

One company has already purchased 205 acres on Hosier Road, just south of downtown, for the 225-bed center. The other wants to put its project on the same road, state officials said.

``The land is almost side by side,'' said Amy Mumpower, the legislative liaison for the Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice.

The center, which would house juveniles after they have been convicted, would be heavily secured with locks and gates, Mumpower said. Inmates would have no interaction with area residents.

About one-third of incarcerated juveniles in southeast Virginia are from Hampton Roads, and the closest facility for them is in Richmond, Mumpower said.

But nothing can be built until the General Assembly approves the project, state officials said.

That didn't stop Corrections Corporation of America, a private company that specializes in managing jails and prisons, from recently spending $425,000 on land for the project on Hosier Road.

Susan Hart, vice president of communications with CCA, said the company runs seven juvenile facilities and is building an adult center in Lawrenceville, Va.

The state would not name the other finalist bidding to build the facility.

Hosier is a narrow, two-lane road lined by farms. One is home to several emus - one of which escaped this year and led residents on a three-day chase before it was safely returned to its owner.

Suffolk is also exploring whether to build a regional center to detain juveniles who are awaiting trial.

Suffolk, along with Franklin and the counties of Greensville, Isle of Wight, Southampton and Brunswick, agreed in January to fund a study to determine whether such a need existed.

Chris Layton, Suffolk's legislative liaison, said the study has found that the region could use a 30-bed facility. That center would be in addition to a similar facility in Chesapeake.

The plan will go before the Board of Juvenile Justice this month.

If approved, the localities will seek the approval of the General Assembly.

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