New York begins work on 335-Foot “Jailscraper” in Chinatown

Site preparation is underway in New York City's Chinatown for the Manhattan Detention Facility, a 335-foot (102-metre), roughly 13-storey jail designed by HOK. It is being built at 125 White Street, on the site of the former Manhattan Detention Complex, known as The Tombs, which was demolished in 2024.

Planned to provide 1,040 beds, the building could become the world's tallest correctional facility, which has led to it being dubbed a "jailscraper". The design splits the building into two main volumes separated by a pedestrian walkway, while a reddish mesh screen and undulating panels cover part of the facade. According to a design document from the New York City Department of Design and Construction (DDC), this double skin system with security mesh is intended to support visual privacy by separating the outermost facade from the people in custody; towards the middle of the building it also acts as a viewpoint, enclosing spaces such as the recreation hall.

Cells will be located on the upper floors, with a public lobby, a community and retail space and a staff lobby at ground level, and parking for Department of Correction and New York Police Department staff below ground. Following community requests, plans also include plantings, seating and visitor facilities, along with the preservation of public artworks from the former Tombs.

Site work, including utility work and preliminary excavation, is already underway, with completion slated for 2032. The project forms part of New York City's Borough-Based Jail Program, which aims to replace the Rikers Island complex — notorious for violence and inhumane conditions — with four smaller facilities in Manhattan, Brooklyn, The Bronx and Queens.

The Manhattan project has faced opposition from local residents, businesses and community organisations. Local leaders wrote to New York mayor Zohran Mamdani warning of the site's structural fragility and calling for the location to be re-evaluated. The DDC says the city is continuing to work with the surrounding community and the architecture team to finalise the design.