City officials, including Mayor Joe Smith, gathered in North Little Rock, Arkansas on Monday, January 13 to celebrate the groundbreaking of the new North Little Rock Justice Center. The new 82,000 sq. ft. facility will house police and court employees who are currently spread over five different buildings.
North Little Rock has not built a new police facility in over 50 years and as the city continued to grow, the outdated facilities became more apparent and did not support current policing trends and needs. In the summer of 2017, residents of North Little Rock approved a one-cent sales tax to support the need for a new justice center. The new site at 2900 Poplar Street will include office space, courtrooms, court public lobby, conference rooms, holding cells, police public lobby, a large community room, sleeping/quiet rooms, administration, interview spaces, the investigations division, patrol division, special operations, support services, training, property and evidence, and weapons screening among several other amenities.
The building is expected to open in the summer of 2021.