All minimum-security offenders housed at Lansing Correctional Facility’s East Unit have moved into a new living unit (E Dorm) built on the grounds of the Lansing Correctional Facility. The E Dorm will house 512 minimum-security offenders.

This is the first building to be completed in the construction of an entirely new Lansing Correctional Facility. The E Dorm has replaced Lansing Correctional Facility’s East Unit, formerly Kansas Correctional Institution for Women/Kansas Correctional Institution at Lansing that began operations in 1917.

The Lansing Correctional Facility (LCF), formerly the Kansas State Penitentiary, opened in 1867 during the presidency of Andrew Johnson and is the oldest and largest state correctional facility in Kansas.

“Operating a facility that was built in the 1800s presented many challenges,” LCF Warden Shannon Meyer said. “We are thrilled to have this new minimum custody housing unit in order to create a safer environment for our staff, our offenders, our visitors and our many volunteers.”

With the assistance of staff from throughout the Kansas Department of Corrections, the offenders were moved over a three-day period the week of December 16-20th, 2019.

“Our staff strive every day to protect our communities and to serve our offenders in a way that will improve their lives upon re-entry,” Acting Secretary Jeff Zmuda, Kansas Department of Corrections, said “They also serve each other well and this project proved that to be true. I am proud of the way our team came together to effectively and safely make the transition to the new facility.”

In addition to the new minimum-security building, new maximum- and medium-security buildings are on schedule for completion after the first of the year.