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: New O’ahu Jail
Location: O’ahu, Hawai’i
Projected Size: 1,000-bed detention center, 300-bed transition center
Projected Cost: ~$1 billion
Owner: Hawai’i Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
Team: HOK/AHL, contracted for design
Status: Design funded
The Hawai’i Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s effort to replace the state’s outdated O’ahu Jail with a modern and culturally relevant 1,000-bed detention center and a separate 300-bed transition center for skills training and reintegration support continues to advance. The department is refining the project’s scope and will have more updates in 2026.
In June’s mid-year update, Correctional News reported that renegotiations with the federal government required omission of a federally owned segment of the intended site, and site design and facilities layout were being adjusted accordingly.
In August, Tommy Johnson, Director of the Hawaiʻi Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, authored an opinion article for the Honolulu Civil Beat that reiterated the need for the facility, outlining the “deplorable condition that is decades beyond rehabilitation” and citing severe overcrowding that strains the facility’s infrastructure and its workforce. Johnson also noted the conditions make it difficult to properly serve the aging inmate population, to ensure community safety and to deliver rehabilitative services.
Also in August, the master planning portion of the project was completed, and the project advanced to the design phase. The state has budgeted $14.5 million for the design phase, and correctional leaders toured other facilities to better determine OCCC’s needs.
Construction of the new OCCC is still scheduled to commence in 2030, and HOK is serving as the project’s technical advisor.
Photo Credit: K2M Design
Project: Cuyahoga County Jail
Location: Cleveland, Ohio
Project Size: 1,900 beds
Projected Cost: $900 million
Owner: Cuyahoga County
Team: HOK, criteria architect; Design-Build team: HDR, Bowen and Gilbane
Status: Completing cost estimates and design development
Cuyahoga County officials in September released the first interior and exterior renderings, completed by HOK, of the new Cuyahoga County Jail campus. The new three-story facility is estimated to cost approximately $900 million. It will include nearly 1,900-beds across 52 housing units (including an exam room and visiting area in each) as well as new parking areas, spaces for sheriff’s department operations and offices for mental health workers.
HOK, the project’s criteria architect, is wrapping up schematic design, and Gilbane (which was awarded the pre-construction contract) is completing cost estimates and working toward the project’s Guaranteed Maximum Price. The project was previously estimated at approximately $760 million for construction. HOK will soon hand the project over to the design/build team of Gilbane, HDR and Bowen. Construction is expected to begin this year and construction could be completed by early 2029. In March, the county is expected to issue bonds for the project.
The project will move the jail from downtown to a new location outside of 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.
Photo Credit: Transystems
Project: Lancaster County Prison
Location: Lancaster County, Pa.
Projected Size: 430,000 square feet, 900 beds
Projected Cost: $400 million
Owner: Lancaster County
Team: CGL Companies and Gannett Fleming TranSystems
Status: Site work
Lancaster County had originally aimed to build and occupy its new prison, estimated at more than $400 million, by the end of 2027 following a nearly 5-year design, approval and construction process.
In February, however, county commissioners extended contracts for CGL Companies and Gannett Fleming TranSystems through March 2029. Design was then anticipated to continue through the first quarter of 2026, with groundbreaking track for Q3.
In mid-October, following a unanimous vote by county commissioners, utility companies were given the green light to begin engineering activities on the site. While full construction has not yet been approved, this move will ensure the site is ready.
Bids have not yet been issued for construction services, but county commissioners have estimated that this could happen before the end of the year, and that a 2029 opening is possible. In August, the commissioners selected Skanska USA to serve as the project’s construction management firm, approving a $7.4 million contract. While some local officials have advocated for changes to the plan, including the addition of a central booking area, no final plans have been released. However, county commissioners have submitted a rough project plan to the Lancaster Township Planning Commission and requested a waiver that would simplify the standard land-development approval process.
The project is still slated to include more than 900 beds spread across 21 housing units and 430,000 square feet on a 78-acre site. The project will replace the existing 315,000-square-foot facility, which is rated for 1,085 inmates but often exceeds capacity and is plagued by outdated mechanical systems, poor climate control and lack of ADA accessibility.
Photo Credit: DLR Group
Project: Nashville Youth Campus for Empowerment
Location: Nashville, Tenn.
Project Size: 270,000 square feet, 64 beds projected
Cost: $130 million
Owner: Metro-Davidson County
Team: DLR Group and Bell Construction
Status: Under construction
DLR Group reports that in September, the Nashville Youth Campus for Empowerment (NYCE), which broke ground in August 2024, reached the key topping-out milestone in the building’s construction. The Nashville community, including Judge Sheila Calloway, attended the event and expressed their continued support.
The integrated design process employed prior to construction impressed upon all members of the design and construction team the value of the project as a model for trauma-informed design, and the court’s vision of a therapeutic and restorative justice campus. These goals provide the context to frame future decisions related to navigating cost impacts. In the end, NYCE remains relevant for the vast scope of services being unified on a single campus. Underpinning the design features and thoughtfulness toward those who work and seek services, the mission of creating betterment for youth and families remains the cornerstone of the project.
The courthouse structure is complete with interior framing started. Exterior walls at the housing cottages are mostly complete and the Family Assessment Building core has been built with steel framing ongoing. The foundation work on the parking garage is beginning.
The project scope remains intact. On-going collaboration between the design and construction team has allowed the essence of the project to be preserved while navigating refinements in material selections based on performance, aesthetics, and availability to maintain the overall project schedule. With the current climate of tariffs and continued cost escalation, real-time review and evaluation of material selections remain at the forefront of the construction process.
The development impacts of the Tennessee Titans’ new stadium has kept the NYCE project schedule aggressive, and the project team has worked closely together with Bell Construction and Metro to meet deadlines. The project is unfolding as envisioned, and the resulting campus promises to be a source of inspiration for the community and future juvenile facilities.
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, aiming to redefine service to justice-involved youth and their families.
Project: Idaho Women’s Facility
Location: Boise, Idaho
Projected Size: 512 beds with an option to expand to 800
Projected Cost: $112 million
Owner: Idaho Department of Corrections
Team: HOK and Okland Construction
Status: Groundbreaking
On Nov. 13, officials celebrated the groundbreaking of the new Idaho women’s prison, which is on track, on budget and anticipated for completion by the end of 2027.
The project will include 512 beds with an option to expand to 800. A new men’s unit with 280 beds will be built next door. The design-build project is valued at approximately $112 million and 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 Correction. Many low-risk inmates are being held in overly restrictive settings, leading to unnecessary state expenses. By transferring these inmates to the new facility, Idaho aims to reduce costs while providing essential rehabilitative services and improving outcomes.
Photo Credit: Clark Construction
Project: Federal Correctional Institute (FCI) Leavenworth
Location: Leavenworth, Kan.
Projected Size: 1,400 beds
Projected Cost: $532 million
Owner: Federal Bureau of Prisons
Team: HOK, Elevatus and Clark, with Vanir, ModCorr and Sweeper
Status: Under construction
The Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) Leavenworth and Federal Prison Camp in Leavenworth, Kan., are estimated for completion in the first quarter of 2026. The project team includes the design partnership of HOK, Elevatus and Clark Construction as well as Vanir as owner’s representative and subcontractors to the design team ModCorr and Sweeper. The $532 million medium-security project will include 23 buildings comprising 630,000 square feet. Upon opening, it will house 1,400-1,500 inmates and employ 340 staff members. 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.