New modular housing units are now in place at Hays State Prison in Chattooga County, part of a Georgia Department of Corrections project designed to provide additional prison beds while maintenance and infrastructure improvements are carried out at state facilities.

The Georgia Department of Corrections announced July 22 that installation of the new ModCorr MaxMod modular housing units had been successfully completed. Hays is one of four state prisons now equipped with the units, along with Dodge, Lee and Montgomery state prisons.

Records associated with the project indicate the Hays expansion called for two 63-bed modular housing units, providing 126 additional beds, with a base contract amount of $20,173,811. Those contract details have been published by Georgia Prisoners’ Speak based on state procurement records.

Additional confirmation that the Hays work has been completed comes from a contractor involved in the project, who described the work as a completed expansion and referenced a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Hays following completion of the new housing.

Statewide, GDC says the modular-housing project added a combined 524 beds at Hays, Dodge, Lee and Montgomery state prisons.

The MaxMod units are designed specifically for correctional facilities and provide secure housing that can be installed more quickly than conventional prison construction.

According to GDC, the additional housing gives the department flexibility to relocate inmates while maintenance and critical infrastructure improvements are completed at existing facilities.

The work at Hays also required supporting infrastructure. Georgia Board of Corrections records show the ModCorr addition required dedicated natural-gas service, including a 400-kilowatt generator, new gas piping connections and a separate gas meter serving the new facility. The City of Summerville requested an easement on state property to provide the service.

Hays, located on Underwood Drive north of Summerville, is a close-security prison constructed in 1989 and opened in 1990. GDC currently lists the prison’s capacity at 1,101 inmates.

When Gabriel Illa was named the new warden at Hays in August, GDC said he would oversee approximately 1,086 male inmates, placing the prison near its listed capacity.

Hays houses general-population inmates along with Tier I and Tier II offenders. GDC also says approximately 750 Level II mental-health inmates are housed throughout the institution.

Corrections Commissioner Tyrone Oliver said the modular housing gives GDC additional options while allowing maintenance and infrastructure projects to continue without disrupting prison operations.

With Hays already operating near its listed capacity, the two new modular units provide more than 100 additional beds while maintenance and infrastructure work continues at the Chattooga County prison.