The Central Unit (C, previously the Imperial State Prison Farm and the Central State Prison Farm) was a Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) men's prison in Sugar Land, Texas. The approximately facility is from the central part of the city of Sugar Land on U.S. Highway 90A.
The unit first opened in April 1909."Central Unit ." Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved on May 9, 2010. The unit had 950 beds for men but related facilities increased capacity at the site.Lowman, John. "Talk of prison move preliminary." Brazosport Facts. Wednesday June 6, 2007. Retrieved on May 9, 2010.
Sugar Land Regional Airport was developed adjacent to this unit, with the runway between two parts of the prison property."WEB0425central_unit_391623k.jpg ." Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved on May 9, 2010. The Central Unit was the only state prison within the city limits of Sugar Land which, since 1960, has been highly developed as a suburban, upscale residential and business city.Hanson, Eric. "Historic prison may be closed," Houston Chronicle. 22 March 2008. Retrieved on April 30, 2011.
In August 2011, the TDCJ announced that the Central Unit would be the first prison in Texas to close without being replaced. The state wanted to save money at a time of budget shortfalls.Goodwin, Liz. "Texas to close prison for first time in state history". Retrieved on Aug. 4, 2011.
Since then, most of the former prison plantation land has been redeveloped by Newland Communities as a master-planned community known as Telfair. Newland Communities had bought the land in 2002 from the State of Texas, long planning such development. Two Camp, a former prison building, has been renovated as the Houston Museum of Natural Science Sugar Land. Other parts of the site are zoned for light industrial use to support the airport.
History
In 1878 the state began to lease convicts as laborers to private companies operating on the Imperial Sugar property. This practice was widespread in Texas and across the South after Reconstruction, when few states had prisons. Many states generated substantial revenues from the fees for convict leasing. They passed what were known as Black Codes, criminalizing behavior they believed associated with freedmen and charging them fees for convictions, for instance, for so-called vagrancy. Because in a cash-poor economy, men often couldn't pay the fee, they were required to work off the costs as convict laborers. The states made so much money that they had incentives to convict poor men for minor offenses. Convict leasing was little regulated; the state did not protect the convicts or oversee their treatment. This system was thoroughly explored and documented in Douglas A. Blackmon's Slavery by Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II (2008).
The State of Texas bought the area in 1908.Ward, Mike. "", Austin American-Statesman. 11 August 2011. Updated on Friday August 12, 2011. Retrieved on September 23, 2011."Convict Leasing and State Account Farming (1883-1909)." Texas State Library and Archives. Retrieved on April 29, 2011. The Imperial State Prison Farm, one of the first penal institutions owned by the State of Texas, opened in 1909 in the Imperial Sugar plantation.Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Turner Publishing Company, 2004. 61. , . Originally it had and was the hub of the Texas state correctional agriculture production.
In 1930 the facility was renamed as the Central State Prison Farm. The name "Central" originates from the prison's status for many years as the central farming and distribution point of agricultural goods from correctional facilities."." Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved on July 21, 2010. Construction of a new unit of the Central Farm, funded by the 41st Texas Legislature, began in late 1930. The $350,000 unit was completed in late 1932. It consisted of of land, including a main building with administration and inmate housing, and an industrial facilities building with a canner, meatpacking plant, and powerhouse.
The state intended for Central to become the central intake and rehabilitation prison in the prison system. In the mid-1930s Central had nearly 700 prisoners. In 1935 Central housed both White and African American prisoners, who were segregated.Trulson, Chad R., James W. Marquart, and Ben M. Crouch. First Available Cell: Desegregation of the Texas Prison System. University of Texas Press, 2009. 81. Retrieved from Google Books on July 16, 2010. , . In the 1950s the prison had over 1,000 inmates.
In 1963, before racial desegregation occurred, the facility housed first offenders and white male prisoners under 25 years of age. Central Unit II housed male African-American second offenders under the age of 25.Trulson, Chad R., James W. Marquart, and Ben M. Crouch. First Available Cell: Desegregation of the Texas Prison System. University of Texas Press, 2009. 82. Retrieved from Google Books on July 16, 2010. , .
In 1991 of land was transferred to the Texas Department of Transportation for the construction of Texas State Highway 99 (Grand Parkway) and other highways; much of that land included territory that was originally a part of the Central Unit."State to study sale of Central Unit prison." Associated Press at The Dallas Morning News. June 5, 2007. Retrieved on May 9, 2010. By 2007 the state had sold land, and surrounding development over the years reduced the prison to .
In 2000 the prison operated the "Texas Fresh Approach" program, a collaborative developed by the TDCJ, Miller Brewing Co., and the Texas Association of Second Harvest Food Banks. As part of the program, prisoners grew vegetables, which were sent to food banks throughout Texas. The TDCJ officials said that the work supported helping others. Miller paid for the transportation of vegetables in the "Fighting Hunger in Texas" program."Stros open Enron stadium in 'Classic' business decision." Houston Business Journal. 17 December 2000. 3. Retrieved on February 6, 2012.
In March 2007 39-year-old David Shane Roberts escaped from the Central Unit.Garay, Mark. "Search underway for escaped prisoner from Sugar Land unit ." KTRK-TV. March 26, 2007. Retrieved on May 9, 2010.
Closure By 2007 residential development began to surround the prison. In addition, the Central Unit is in land zoned by the county for expansion of the Sugar Land Regional Airport.Pina, Kim. "What's in store for Sugar Land's airport? ." Houston Chronicle. April 18, 2008. Retrieved on June 13, 2009. The airport was considering expansion of its facilities, and was seeking a $30 million federal grant to study those possibilities.
The City of Sugar Land made moving the facility one of its main priorities for the 2007 state legislative session. John Whitmire, a member of the Texas State Senate, advocated moving the facility to an area in Brazoria County, Texas near the community of Rosharon. The area has several existing TDCJ facilities. Whitmire said that a prison in that location would be less expensive to operate and would allow the state to alleviate a shortage of correction personnel by consolidating staff members. In 2007 TDCJ officials said that discussions to move the Central Unit from Sugar Land to Brazoria County were preliminary. During the same year, Whitmire promoted a bill calling for a study for the feasibility of selling the land of the Central Unit. The bill awaited the signature of Governor of Texas Rick Perry. As of that year the Texas General Land Office estimated the value of the land to $10.1 million.
Hal Croft, the acting deputy director of asset management of the land office, said in a press release "That property is like the center of a doughnut — prime property now because it has been surrounded by development." If the prison is sold, the resulting funds would be used to fund public schools; they cannot be used to build another prison facility.
By 2008 the city and the state were conducting a joint study researching whether the TDCJ should close the Central Unit and sell the land. Mayor of Sugar Land Dave Wallace said "Let's just say that a prison is not the highest and best use for that land right now.""." Associated Press at News 8 Austin. March 23, 2008. Retrieved on July 21, 2010. During that year the TDCJ granted the prison's access easements to the City of Sugar Land."." Fort Bend Herald. Thursday April 3, 2008. Retrieved on April 29, 2011. By 2009 the City of Sugar Land had already zoned the land that the prison occupied to a light industrial commercial park zone.
Allen Bogard, the City Manager of Sugar Land, said that he believed that the Central Unit property "has a much higher purpose and value to the state of Texas to be utilized for economic development purposes." Some Sugar Land residents supported the idea of the prison leaving. Some residents feared that sexually oriented businesses, such as strip clubs, could open in a light industrial commercial park zone once the prison was closed. By 2009 the airport received a $2 million grant for airport expansion, and the grant could be used to buy the prison property."Prison leaving Sugar Land? " KTRK-TV. Wednesday January 7, 2009. Retrieved on May 10, 2010. In 2009 the State of Texas authorized the purchase of the Smithville portion by the City of Sugar Land."." Texas House of Representatives. Friday September 4, 2009. Retrieved on July 21, 2010. If the prison closes, the TDCJ would lose the Central Unit's 1,060 prisoner beds."Feasibility Study of Relocating the Central Unit ." Texas Department of Criminal Justice. January 2009. 11 (12/45). Retrieved on July 21, 2010.
By 2010, due to the expansion of Greater Houston, housing developments such as Chelsea Harbor were constructed within of the prison grounds.Ward, Mike. "Are trusty camps a weak link in Texas prison security?." ()Austin American-Statesman. Saturday April 24, 2010. Updated on Sunday April 25, 2010. Retrieved on May 9, 2010. In February 2011 the prison had of land remaining.Dawson, Jennifer. "Sugar Land seeks to develop prison for industrial use." Houston Business Journal. Friday February 25, 2011. Retrieved on April 11, 2012.
In mid-2011 the State of Texas had a severe budget shortfall. State legislators determined they needed to close the Central Unit to save money.Grissom, Brandi. "Prison Closing Pleases City and Helps State Budget." The New York Times. August 19, 2011. Retrieved on September 23, 2011. On May 30, 2011, the regular session of the 82nd Texas Legislature concluded. The legislature voted to close the Central Unit by removing funding on September 1 of that year."82nd Legislature: Post Legislative Session update ." (PDF ) Texas Department of Criminal Justice. July–August 2011. Retrieved on September 23, 2011. Mike Ward of the Austin American-Statesman said that, one week prior to the decision, "it appeared" that the Central Unit would remain open because legislators questioned whether removing capacity for 1,500 prisoners was a good decision.Ward, Mike. "Budget writers agree to shut old prison ." Austin American-Statesman. Tuesday May 17, 2011. Retrieved on September 23, 2011.
In August 2011, Texas Department of Criminal Justice announced that the prison will be closing. Spokesperson Michelle Lyons said it will become the first prison in Texas history to close and not be replaced. 71 prison guards will go to other prisons to work. On August 2, 2011, 200 prison guards and 80 prisoners remained to move the trucking hub and soap factory out of Central. The Roach Unit was scheduled to take the former Central soap factory and the Ramsey Unit was scheduled to take the trucking hub. By the end of August, the prison was scheduled to be completely vacant.Ward, Mike. "" (). Austin American-Statesman at the Killeen Daily Herald. Wednesday August 3, 2011. Retrieved on September 23, 2011.