The prison is connected to a tunnel that allows inmates and US Deputy Marshals to travel to and from the James A. Byrne United States Courthouse.

[4] The proposal to build the jail at its current site, which at the time was a mostly vacant plot of land, was made public in February 1992.

[2] In August 1992, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that the jail could damage efforts to revitalize portions of Center City.

[6] As of April 1993, prior to the opening of the detention center, there were 18 federal prisons throughout the U.S. that housed pretrial inmates awaiting proceedings in Philadelphia.

[4] Each 96-square-foot (8.9 m2) prison cell has slit windows, a bunk bed, a toilet, twin lockers, a writing table, a basin, and drains at the perimeters.