Nashville, Davidson County Announce Intent to Award to Design-Build Team on New $410 Million Detention Facility Project

The Davidson County Sheriff’s Office new Replacement Correctional Facility will house more than 1,800 beds across 500,806 square feet of space. | Photo Credit: Davidson County Sheriff’s Office

• Davidson County, Tenn., intends to award the $410 million Davidson County Sheriff’s Office Replacement Correctional Facility project to the BELL Construction/Clark Construction JV, with HOK serving as architect.
• The project will replace two aging facilities at the Harding Place campus with a phased, 500,806-square-foot correctional complex totaling about 1,867 beds.
• BELL/Clark scored 99 out of 100 points in the county’s evaluation, with officials citing the team’s strong experience delivering large correctional projects on active campuses.
• Construction is expected to take approximately 36 months, with phased demolition and inmate relocation designed to maintain operations throughout the build.

NASHVILLE — The Davidson County, Tenn., Department of Finance Division of Purchases recently announced a notice of intent to award the design-build team for the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office (DCSO) Replacement Correctional Facility.

The county has selected the joint venture of BELL Construction/Clark Construction, as well as architecture firm HOK for the massive $410 million project at the Harding Place correctional campus. The project includes the demolition of the former Metro Detention Facility, which once held 1,200 people and has been closed since 2020, and the 768-bed Correctional Development Center – Male, followed by phased construction of a replacement facility to alleviate capacity constraints. The new facility will hold approximately 1,867 beds and span about 500,806 square feet on the same site, according to the project RFQ issued in March.

Of a total of 100 points, BELL/Clark received an impressive total of 99 and were credited for demonstrating “significant experience designing and constructing a large correctional facility on an existing operational campus and is above expectation in this regard,” according to the county’s Intent to Award notice.

Under the project’s two-phase approach, contractors will first demolish the vacant Metro Detention Facility and partially build the new detention center, then relocate incarcerated people from the Correctional Development Center – Male into completed sections. In the second phase, the remaining older facility will be demolished and the rest of the new complex built. The project is expected to take about 36 months to complete.

In addition to the current Davidson County project, BELL is also working on Nashville’s new Nashville Youth Campus for Empowerment (NYCE), a four-building campus that includes a five-story courthouse, a multi-story parking structure and multiple low-rise housing and services buildings. The NYCE is expected to open in 2027.

BELL and HOK also recently teamed up on the 405,000-square-foot Davidson County Criminal Justice Center project in downtown Nashville, which houses up to 1,000 beds and was completed in 2020.