2025 Projects to Watch
Multi-million dollar justice and correctional projects are underway across the nation that will improve safety, care and outcomes for people in local, state, and federal custody. Throughout 2025, Correctional News will follow these and other notable projects as they progress through planning, design, construction and occupancy.
Project: O’ahu Community Correctional Center
Location: O’ahu, Hawai’i
Owner: Hawai’I Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
Stage: Planning
The Hawai’I Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation aims to replace the state’s outdated O’ahu jail. The design intent is to keep adults in custody connected to their cultural values, especially Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders who are disproportionately represented within the population. Plans include a 1,000 bed detention center, including mental health and medical areas for education, substance abuse treatment, counseling and re-entry support. The site has been established on state-owned land with community input, and most planning and land entitlement issues have been addressed. Officials are considering project delivery methods and fin
Photo Credit: K2M Design
Project: Cuyahoga County Jail
Location: Cuyahoga County, Ohio
Owner: Cuyahoga County
Stage: Design
Team: HOK – Criteria architect. HDR, Richard L. Bowen & Associates, and Gilbane – project delivery team
The aging Cuyahoga County Jail is slated to be replaced by a new 4-story, L-shaped facility estimated at more than $1 billion. The new, roughly 1,900-bed facility would include three levels of more efficiently designed inmate housing (with the potential to expand) as well as new parking areas, spaces for sheriff’s department operations and offices for mental health workers. The project will move the jail from downtown to a new location outside the city and aims to alleviate chronic overcrowding, safety issues and operational concerns. Rehabilitation spaces, which are lacking in the existing structure, are slated to include a behavioral care facility and a Release and Re-entry Resource Center. The county selected HOK to serve as criteria architect in 2021. The project delivery team includes national firms Gilbane and HDR as well as Richard L. Bowen & Associates of Cleveland.
Photo Credit: Transystems
Project: Lancaster County Prison
Location: Lancaster County, Pa.
Owner: Lancaster County Commissioners
Stage: Design
Team: TranSystems – Architect
Lancaster County is aiming to build and occupy its new prison, estimated at roughly $400 million, by the end of 2027 following a nearly 5-year design, approval and construction process. The project is slated to include more than 900 beds spread across 21 housing units and 430,000 square feet on a 78-acre site. The county selected Kansas City-based architect TranSystems for the project, which will replace the existing 315,000-square-foot facility. That structure is rated for 1,085 but often exceeds capacity and is plagued by outdated mechanical system and poor climate control and lack of ADA accessibility. The new structure will include much-needed medical facilities as well as dedicated space for juveniles and separate staff areas and increased access to natural light. Other potential features on the campus include rainwater-capture and solar energy systems.
Photo Credit: DLR Group
Project: Nashville Youth Campus for Empowerment
Location: Nashville, Tenn.
Owner: Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County
Stage: Construction
Team: DLR Group & Smith Gee Studio – Architects; Bell Construction – Construction Manager
The Nashville Youth Campus for Empowerment broke ground in August 2024, aiming to redefine service to justice-involved youth and their families. Spanning 14 acres and 270,000 square feet, the $130 million facility will house the Davidson County Juvenile Court, a pre-trial housing facility accommodating 35-40 youth daily (serving over 400 monthly) and a Respite and Assessment Center providing therapeutic care for unhoused youth. Expected to open in 2027, the campus is designed with a family-oriented, trauma-informed approach, focusing on holistic and restorative justice. It will include courtrooms, offices training areas, and landscaped courtyards alongside facilities for community outreach, public defenders, state attorneys, child services, victim services, court advocates, foster care, mediation and information technology. Central utility plants, new site infrastructure and a 600-vehicle parking garage are also included. Targeting a LEED Gold certification, the project is a collaboration between the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, DLR Group and Smith Gee Studio. Bell Construction has been contracted as the construction manager.
Project: Idaho State Women’s Prison Project
Location: Boise, Idaho
Owner: Idaho Department of Corrections
Stage: Design
Team: HOK-Okland Design/Build team
The State of Idaho is planning to construct a new 848-bed women’s prison, featuring 50 medium-custody beds with the rest designated for minimum custody. Valued at approximately $112 million, the design-build project is led by Okland Construction and HOK. The facility is designed to resemble student housing rather than a traditional prison, focusing on rehabilitation and re-entry programs. It will also include a new reception and diagnostic unit, along with additional medical beds for female inmates. The project will address the current practice of housing state inmates in county jails, which lack the rehabilitative and re-entry programs provided by the Idaho Department of Corrections. Many low-risk inmates are being held in overly restrictive settings, leading to unnecessary state expenses. By transferring these inmates to a new facility, Idaho aims to reduce costs, while providing essential rehabilitative services and improving outcomes. The project is currently in design with the state and the DBE with no estimated completion date.
Photo Credit: Clark Construction
Project: Federal Correctional Institution Leavenworth and Federal Prison Camp
Location: Leavenworth, Kan.
Owner: Federal Bureau of Prisons
Stage: Construction
Team: Elevatus & HOK – Architects, Clark Construction – General Contractor
The Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) Leavenworth and Federal Prison Camp are under construction east of the historic penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kan. The $532 million project, led by Clark Construction Group, is scheduled for completion in May 2026. The new facility will house 1,400-1,500 inmates and employ 340 staff members. Designed by Elevatus and HOK, it replaces the original penitentiary built in 1897, the nation’s first maximum-security prison. The new institution will focus on modernizing incarceration and rehabilitation practices, providing enhanced educational, vocational and fellowship programs as well as mental health and physical wellness services. The facility aims to create safer conditions for staff members and inmates while supporting the Department of Justice’s mission to ensure public safety and offer humane incarceration environments.