The cost of the proposed 3,000-bed state prison in Franklin County is now estimated at $825 million, more than double the approximate $405 million state officials said it would cost when it was first announced in October 2024.
The Arkansas Department of Corrections (DOC) on Monday said the new estimate from Vanir Construction Management places the “estimated maximum cost” at $825 million. Vanir is the California-based company hired by the DOC to consult on the planned prison.
“The estimated total project cost of $825 million is based on industry benchmarks and recent comparable projects but remains a high-level estimate due to several outstanding analyses and studies,” Vanir noted in a letter to the DOC. “Additionally, this budget reflects current market conditions. The $825 million budget is therefore a preliminary projection based on best-available data and industry minimums. As the above evaluations progress, refinements to scope, design, and cost allocations will provide a more precise budget.”
Gov. Sarah Sanders and other state officials announced Oct. 31 that the state had purchased land north of Charleston in Franklin County to build the prison. The cost for the 815 acres was $2.9 million. One of the reasons for the western Arkansas site selection was to avoid placing the prison in an area where additional prisons already exist, which could affect potential workforce options, according to state officials. Once the prison is complete, it will employ nearly 800 individuals at an average salary of more than $46,600, based on estimates. Sanders said the region is large enough to provide a workforce pool from which to hire enough people to staff the prison.
County residents have formed a coalition to oppose the prison, and have hired Fort Smith attorney Joey McCutchen to find legal avenues to block construction of the prison in the county. More than 1,800 area residents attended a town hall on Nov. 7, 2024, at the Charleston High School gym to push back against it being built in Franklin County.
State officials, including Board of Corrections Chairman Benny Magness, and Joe Profiri, a senior consultant to Gov. Sanders, said at the time that the $330 million previously approved by the Arkansas Legislature for the prison, and another $75 million set aside for the prison should be enough to build it.
However, recent legislation filed in the regular session of the Arkansas Legislature seeks $750 million for the prison, with the previous $75 million helping to cover the new estimate.
“This estimate lets us move forward quickly on the long-overdue prison project and build a safer, stronger Arkansas. I look forward to working with our partners in the legislature to get this appropriation passed,” said Gov. Sanders noted in a statement about the new estimate from Vanir.
“This estimate allows us to move quickly toward breaking ground on the Franklin County prison and building the long-overdue, 3,000-bed facility we know our state needs,” said Arkansas Department of Corrections Secretary Lindsay Wallace. “We look forward to working with the Governor and legislature to secure the resources we need to build the prison and create a safer, stronger Arkansas.”
The Monday press release from the DOC also notes that the state has a shortage of more than 3,000 prison beds, which costs the state almost $30 million annually to keep inmates in county jails.
“Governor Sanders and her administration have worked to open up nearly 1,500 prison beds to address this problem, but the shortage will persist until a new prison is built,” noted the DOC statement.
Magness said the department is eager to work with the governor’s office to build the prison.
“We have worked closely with Governor Sanders and the legislature to facilitate the construction of a new prison and are happy to be taking the next step in that important process,” Magness noted in the press release. “Everyone knows we need a new prison to address our state’s prison bed shortage, and I look forward to working with legislators to secure the funding necessary to build this facility quickly.”