Arkansas Department of Corrections in North Little Rock on June 5, 2024. (Mary Hennigan/Arkansas Advocate)
The Arkansas Board of Corrections on Friday will consider a $16.5 million contract with Vanir Construction Management to oversee the planning and construction of a new 3,000-bed prison.
Approval of the contract would mark the first major development since Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced the new prison last March. The space the correctional facility would provide is intended to relieve county jails, where a backlog of about 2,000 state inmates are being held.
Officials also anticipate needing additional space because the Protect Arkansas Act, an overhaul of the state prison system, removes the possibility of parole for the most serious offenders.
According to a proposed services contract, Vanir Construction Management’s services would begin on Oct. 22 and extend until at least 2028. The contract can be renewed for a maximum of seven consecutive years.
The role Vanir Construction Management would fulfill is formally referred to as “owner’s representative,” which prison officials have recently mentioned working alongside the governor’s office to select.
Vanir was one of three companies that submitted proposals for consideration.
The Board of Corrections and the governor’s office have been at odds over prison expansion and management of correctional facilities. The board fired former Corrections Secretary Joe Profiri, whom Sanders appointed, and a state legislative committee in June approved an audit into the board’s hiring of outside counsel to represent it in legal battles related to the dispute.
While development of the new prison has been delayed, officials have implemented immediate bed expansions, including moving more than 100 inmates to a vacant Tucker Unit in August and acquiring two county facilities in September. Additional efforts for nearly 325 beds are underway in at least three state correctional facilities.
Arkansas officials plan immediate bed expansions while they await new prison
According to the proposed contract, the scope of Vanir Construction Management’s services would include “selection processes and the design, construction and warranty-period occupancy of a new proposed correctional facility.”
The contract would be paid for with state funds through a prison expansion appropriation set during the 2023 legislative session.
A location for the new facility has not yet been announced and construction is expected to last years. The prison would provide beds for maximum, medium and minimal-security inmates.
The company
Vanir Construction Management is a California-based company that was founded in 1964 and now has 24 offices nationwide, according to its website.
Though the proposed contract provided by the Department of Corrections notes the company is not a minority or woman-owned business, Vanir Construction Management’s website leads with a statement that begins, “Vanir, a proud minority- and woman-owned firm.”
According to an online description, Vanir Construction Management was founded 60 years ago by H. Frank Dominguez, who wanted to improve the world through “economic empowerment and a strong philosophy of giving back to his community.” Dominguez served in the U.S. Army and was a prominent figure in the Hispanic community.
After his death in 2004, his daughter Dorene C. Dominguez assumed the role of CEO.
Vanir Construction Management’s website doesn’t list any project experience in Arkansas, though a number of correctional facilities in other states are included in its portfolio.
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