Arkansas prison board chooses contractor to build new 3,000-bed penitentiary
The Arkansas Board of Corrections on Thursday chose a partnership between Arkansas and Kansas City-based firms to build a proposed new 3,000-bed prison.
In a special-called meeting via videoconference, the seven-member board unanimously accepted the recommendation of its selection committee to negotiate a final contract with the partnership of Nabholz Construction of Conway and J.E. Dunn Construction of Kansas City, Missouri. Board Chairman Benny Magness said he expects to appoint a negotiating team by the board's regular meeting on May 29.
The choice of a general contractor for the new prison marks the latest step in getting the prison off the ground since Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced in March 2023 her intent to have the state build the mega-prison. Last October, the prison board hired California-based Vanir Construction Management as project manager for the prison. In April, the board chose Omaha, Neb.-based HDR and Little Rock-based Cromwell Architects Engineers as the design team for the 3,000-bed facility.
Nabholz and J.E. Dunn both have extensive experience constructing correctional facilities, their representatives said Thursday. Dunn built a 2,552-bed prison in Tennessee that took 16 months to finish and was completed in 2015, according to its website. Nabholz has a 30-year history of working on Department of Corrections projects, said Jon Pahl, vice president of preconstruction.
Board members were careful Thursday not to specify where the prison will be located; the motion to approve the contractor said only that the firms would be hired for 'the new prison build.'
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The planned prison became controversial last fall when Sanders announced on Oct. 31 that the state was buying 815 acres in rural Franklin County for $2.95 million on which to place the prison. Local officials and some lawmakers cried foul, saying they had been 'blindsided' by the decision. At least two citizen groups formed to voice objections to the site because of its remote location, which they said would make it difficult and expensive to provide adequate infrastructure and staffing.
A bill to appropriate $750 million toward the prison project stalled in the last days of the General Assembly last month as lawmakers voiced concerns about the ultimate cost and continued to raise questions about the suitability of the Franklin County location. Administration officials provided an estimated cost of the project of $825 million, but opponents said it could cost upward of $1 billion.
In a letter to Sanders the day the legislative session ended this month, Sen. Bryan King, R-Green Forest, asked the governor to use previously appropriated prison funds for their originally intended purpose —expanding the prison at Calico Rock — and taking other steps to increase state prison capacity instead of sticking to the Franklin County proposal.
King was accompanied at a press conference that day by about 20 opponents of the west Arkansas prison site as well as members of the Chickamauga, an Indigenous tribe with a presence in Franklin County. Tribal officials called for an archaeological study before construction begins because of potential artifacts and burial sites in the area. The state hasn't committed to a formal study but has said it is conducting an assessment of the site for potential archaeological evidence.
The prison board took care of other matters at Thursday's special meeting, including approving the purchase of 23 TruNarc drug-testing devices for $822,000. The corrections department has been using one of the devices and sharing among its facilities. An official said it is more accurate than previous drug-testing methods.
The board also approved the purchase of 70 new Arkansas Wireless Information Network two-way radios to replace older ones at a cost of $166,000 and 10 zero-turn mowers for $107,000.
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