Alameda County's project to build outdoor recreation yards at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin is done, but it ran more than a year past its original contract schedule and needs another $1.4 million to close out, according to a staff report on the Board of Supervisors' agenda Tuesday, Oct. 20.
The General Services Agency is asking the board to raise the project budget in the county's five-year capital plan from $12,391,121 to $13,791,121, accept the construction work as complete and release $442,278.33 in final retention payments to the contractor, CWS Construction Group of Novato.
What was built
The work added two large and six small fenced yards in the jail's maximum-security area, one large and one small yard in the minimum-security area, and split two existing quasi-yards into four smaller ones. The report says the goal is to improve the mental and physical health of people held at the jail by giving them more time outdoors and out of their cells.
How the cost and schedule grew
The board awarded CWS a $6,575,000 construction contract in April 2024, with a $657,500 allowance for extra work, for a term that was to run from May 28, 2024, to March 6, 2025.
Supervisors raised that allowance to $1,357,500 in April 2025, and in May 2025 approved two change orders worth $431,000 and $670,000 that pushed the contract from about $7.15 million to about $8.25 million.
The agency now recommends accepting the finished work at $8,845,566.56. Construction was completed on June 5, 2026, and a final inspection found it met the agreement, the report says.
