Who's designing and building the Franklin County prison? The design and contractor teams

The Arkansas Board of Corrections ran a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) process to choose the architectural and engineering team. After reviewing proposals, they recommended HDR Cromwell. This is the group responsible for turning the state's goals into actual plans - drawings, engineering specs, and the design decisions that shape how the facility will function.

The Board approved a contract with HDR Cromwell, then submitted it to the Arkansas Legislative Council for review. That extra step is part of how the state moves major contracts forward officially.

On the construction side, the Board recommended and approved Nabholz and JE Dunn as general contractors at their May 15 meeting. Proposals had come in earlier that month. If you've been looking for the names of the builders tied to this project, that's the key decision.

Don't expect bulldozers just yet. The contractor team still needs to negotiate their contract with the state before any construction begins. So while the selection is a milestone, it's still part of preconstruction - not groundbreaking.

For families tracking this project, these selections are more about accountability than immediate activity. Now there are specific parties responsible for the next steps - coordinating plans, pricing, and early project decisions. That said, expect a gap between "team selected" and "construction underway." Contract negotiations and preconstruction work take time.

1. Watch for the notice to proceed for design-assist - this is tentatively scheduled for August and signals the start of the design-assist phase.
2. Then look for early sitework - early sitework is planned for September 2025, which is when you’d expect the first on-the-ground work tied to preparing the site.

Two key location decisions are already locked in. On October 31, 2024, the governor announced the purchase of an 815-acre property in Franklin County. The Board then approved a site on Arkansas Highway 215 north of Charleston. If you're tracking progress over time, those dates help anchor what's been decided versus what's still moving.