Allegiant Medplex

Very exciting update for Allegiant Medplex, Monticello…

Insulation board is installed and being coated with waterproofing. Brick insulation board is also up. This project is really taking shape! Great job Team!

Southern Tail Brewing

Exciting update for Southern Tail Brewing…VERTICAL STEEL going up!

The team did a great job getting the slab poured and now we have steel and wood framing in place!

Central High School Cafeteria

LRSD’s Central High School Cafeteria Renovation turned out beautiful! The original archways create an eye catching gallery displaying iconic photos of The Little Rock Nine.

In 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court had ruled in Brown v. Board of Education that segregation in public schools was illegal.

In 1957 the first African American students arrived at Central High School to begin classes. It took three weeks and the National Guard before the nine teenagers were finally admitted into the school. These students became known as The Little Rock Nine.

EHC Team Meeting Awards

One of the great things about working for East Harding Construction is the recognition program. At today’s team meeting, Van Tilbury, President & CEO awarded Stevie Forrester, Carpenter, the coveted Bulova, American Clipper style watch for his 25 years of service. Congratulations Stevie! We appreciate you!

Also, Tom Wolfe, Site Superintendent, was awarded the September Safety Award for his awareness and quick actions concerning a sub that was suffering from a heat related illness, possibly saving the subs life. Great Job Tom!

Allegiant Medical

Exterior framing, interior framing, and exterior panels in place! This project is moving along nicely! Looking good team!

Camden Fairview Middle School

Auditorium Renovation

The Camden Fairview Middle School has a beautiful, newly renovated auditorium. Students and staff can now enjoy school events in the modernized auditorium sporting new paint, flooring, seating and electrical upgrades.

Great Job Team!

George’s Little Rock

Congratulations to George’s in Little Rock.

George’s recently opened their Italian restaurant and have stayed busy since day one! This quaint eatery offers a quiet, welcoming atmosphere and delicious Italian fare. The East Harding Project Team attended the soft opening last Thursday and loved everything about it. Great Job Team!

Great Job Team!

LRSD | Chicot Elementary

On Monday, LRSD’s Chicot Elementary kicked off the new school year sporting a new front entryway and extensive interior renovations that included adding aprox. 322 sf of office space..

The new space was utilized for an updated nurse’s station, principle/asst. principle offices, secretary area, conference room and a copy room. This project turned out GREAT and classes were able to start on time as scheduled.

Great Job Team!

Millage to Fund New High School Campus

Congratulations to the citizens of Pine Bluff for voting “YES” to the Pine Bluff School District millage increase that will fund a new high school campus! East Harding Construction is honored to be the Construction Manager/General Contractor for 175,000 square feet of new Classrooms, Administration, Computer/Media Center, Career & Technical Education Center, Cafeteria, Safe Room, Sports Arena, 900-seat Auditorium and Outdoor Classroom.

The students of the Pine Bluff School District will love having a beautiful, secure and modern learning space with all new technology. Our thanks to the “Pine Bluff Committee for Our Students Our Future” and to the voters for making this fantastic new facility a reality. We are so excited for the community!

Allegiant Medplex

The heat isn’t slowing progress on this project! With the walls framed up, this structure is really taking form.

Southern Tail Brewing

Southern Tail Brewing… Less than two weeks after the ground breaking ceremony, trenches are dug and being filled with concrete and rebar for the footings. Great start to this exciting new project!

LRSD | Chicot Elementary

East Harding Construction is excited to begin work on LRSD’s Chicot Elementary. We will be creating a new entrance and some additional office space. Currently, there is a temporary wall put in place while we demo the concrete.

Southern Tail Brewing

Southern Tail Brewing broke ground yesterday at their new location, 900 E. 9th Street in the East Village neighborhood of Little Rock. East Harding Construction was selected as GC for this exciting new brewery/restaurant. Van Tilbury, President & CEO, Jack Whitley, Project Manager & David Finnie, Sr. Project Manager were there to commemorate the event. Southern Tail Brewing is owned by Brent and Tracy Cryder, experienced brewers and fermenters. Their vision is to provide a welcoming place to eat, drink and play with outdoor space for gathering and even playing lawn games. They are passionate about dogs and cats and are planning to donate a portion of the proceeds to support local animal charities.

Little Rock Central High School

East Harding Construction is proud and excited to begin renovations to the iconic Central High School. Built in 1927, this structure is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and has a rich history of culture and diversity. Currently, the kitchen access has been redesigned to allow easier meal service and the ceilings and interior arches are being repaired and painted.

Monticello High School | Tennis

East Harding is proud to be adding three tennis courts to the Monticello High School campus. The dirt work for the first tennis court is underway! This is a very exciting milestone for the school and will bring years of learning and expericences for the students.

St. John’s Lutheran School

East Harding Construction is modifying the existing gym and lobby roof of St. John’s Lutheran School gymnasium in Stuttgart to add additional slope and we are reroofing the building with metal roofing, gutters and downspouts. These improvements will go along way towards the longevity of the building and provide years of additonal use. Looking good guys!

Pavilion in the Park

Pavilion in the Park, a collection of buidlings organized around a glass covered courtyard, was damaged by the tornado that tore through Little Rock in March. Our teams have been hard at work to shore up the walls, replace air conditioning units and begin the repairs necessary to restore this beautiful shopping and office space to its former glory.

Shawn Carroll Named Partner

Shawn Carroll, Senior Vice President of Operations, has become a stockholder and partner at East Harding Construction, a Little Rock-based commercial construction manager / general contractor specializing in new construction and renovation throughout Arkansas.

“Shawn has deep experience in commercial construction in Arkansas and has grown his career with East Harding Construction to earn the opportunity for ownership. He exemplifies our guiding business philosophy of ‘Client Focused Construction’ and has proven himself repeatedly to be an advocate for our clients and for our team,” said Van Tilbury, President and CEO. “Shawn has made a profound impact on our company’s success and I look forward to our future with him as a partner.”

Armor Bank Corporate Office

The conference room looks amazing with this 16′ Cypress table and seating for 14. The team is putting the final touches on this project and it should be wrapped up soon. Looking forward to seeing the finished product!

Team Meeting | May 2023

May’s Team Meeting was very exciting! Representatives from American First Response were onsite to provide CPR certification training. The class was extremely thorough and interactive. We learned the correct procedures for performing CPR on adults as well as how to provide aid to someone who is choking.

East Harding also congratulated two of our newest employees on their one year anniversaries. Chris Young and Jared Tolhurst, both Site Superintendents, celebrated their one year anniversary by choosing an anniversary gift from the company. The gifts they chose were an Embarcadero™Pack, 15″ smart laptop bag and a Laguiole®5-Piece Knife Block Set. We are very excited that Chris and Jared are a part of the East Harding team!

UAPB | Hazzard Gym

The new windows on the gym look great! They are tinted and insulated to reduce the amount of heat buildup in the gym and are a great addition to the insulated panels that were recently added.

Great Job Guys!

Superintendent Forklift Training

From the classroom to hands-on field training, East Harding superintendents learned and refreshed their knowledge base in Rough Terrain Forklift operation. Gary Barth, Regional Safety Trainer for United Rentals was onsite to provide a training session and opportunity for everyone in attendance to update or get their certification.

Rough terrain forklifts typically can lift weight capacities from 15 feet to 56 feet in the air. Their rated load capacities typically range from 5,500 pounds up to 12,000 pounds. Pat Booth, Sr. Site Superintendent and Tom Wolfe, Site Superintendent, were among the many to operate the JCB 506-36 Rough Terrain Forklift.

A special thanks to United Rentals for providing an excellent session and hands-on experience.

EHC’s Family Picnic 2023

East Harding Construction held their annual picnic yesterday at Allsop Park. We had a great turn out with several new faces at this years event. We played horseshoes and cornhole, kind of an East Harding tradition, and there was a huge bounce house for the kids.

Count Porkula catered BBQ ribs, pulled pork, deviled egg potato salad, BBQ beans, amazing mac and cheese and delicious cookies and brownies! It was a wonderful evening of comradery and a great opportunity to get to the know the new families who recently joined East Harding. A special thanks to Van Tilbury, owner, president & CEO, for bringing us together as a team and an extended family.

AMFA Grand Opening

East Harding Construction’s Van Tilbury part of the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts Grand Opening!

Saturday, April 22, 2023 – The AMFA held the official ribbon cutting for the reimagined Museum as part of a $170.8 million Capital Campaign. Arkansas Governor Sanders, City of Little Rock Mayor Scott, AMFA Executive Director Dr. Victoria Ramirez, Capital Campaign Co-Chairs Harriet and Warren Stephens, and East Harding’s own Van Tilbury, AMFA Chairman, were among the speakers at this historic event.

3-1/2 years of construction created a beautifully redesigned 133,000 square foot Museum that features eight Art Galleries, a Cultural Living Room, an Art School, a Performing Arts Theater, Park Grill restaurant, a Gift Shop and other amenities within an 11-acre landscape that blends the reimagined museum with nature in Little Rock’s own MacArthur Park. For more visit www.arkmfa.org

UAPB | Hazzard Gym – Phase 1 Exterior

The team has been working hard to install metal panels around the exterior of Hazzard Gym. These insulated panels will help reduce climate change inside the gym, reduce energy cost and leave a lighter carbon footprint.

Monticello High School

After much site work, the asphalt trucks were all loaded up and ready to start paving this 70,000 sf parking lot. A few hours later, you could smell the fresh tar as it was being worked into what is now a brand new parking area. It looks great! Good work guys!

United Rentals

East Harding Construction is renovating the United Rentals at Mabelvale Pike and building a 1500 sf addition. The renovation includes replacing all compressed air service lines, interior HVAC heaters/ductwork, repainting the showroom and offices and reworking the ceilings.

ASC | Arts & Science Center of Southeast Arkansas

East Harding is excited to be renovating this wonderful facility. After the completion of work to the alleyway, the Arts & Science Center of Southeast Arkansas (ASC) commissioned UAPB art students to paint the mural in the alleyway bringing this versatile space to life.

ARMOR Bank | Corporate Office

This corporate office renovation is coming along nicely. New offices have been framed and will provide a beautiful view of the Arkansas River and local wildlife for the lucky people who get to work in them.

ARTSpace on Main BIA Award

The Brick Industry Association (BIA) has awarded the 2022 Brick in Architecture Award for Historic Renovation to ASC ARTS x3.

East Harding is proud to have been the General Contractor for this historic renovation.

Thoughtful design and renovation transformed these two historic downtown buildings on Main Street in Pine Bluff into vibrant community arts and events spaces. This exciting new expansion to the ASC campus, anchored by the ASC’s main building at 701 S. Main Street, now operate as a multi-purpose community arts and event space.

These two projects also received the 2021 Award for Outstanding Achievement in Adaptive Reuse” by the Arkansas Preservation Alliance.

The two buildings feature the endowed Adam B. Robinson, Jr. Theater, a 70-seat black box theater for small, community-oriented productions (named in honor of the long-time ASC supporter and Board member); five apartments for resident artists with accompanying studios that can be used by the residents or rented to local artists; a community gallery for area artists to show and sell work; flexible workshop space for art classes, yoga classes, dance and culinary arts workshops, a tinkering makerspace, a wood shop, scene shop and costume shop; a small pottery studio and an outside “ART Yard” for large-scale projects and events.

The re-imagined buildings contribute to the Historic District and incorporate some of the original features, including an advertising mural inside for O.K. Dairy Creamery, currently ARTSpace.

Mountaire Corporate Office

This renovation utilizes modern design panels to separate open spaces, creating more defined areas. The cubicle design insures the most functionality of the large open workspace. East Harding is proud to be a part of another great corporate office renovation.

Allegiant Medplex

With site work nearly finished, we are seeing our first material deliveries. The steel for the new building has arrived…VERY EXCITING!

ARMOR Bank Corporate Office

Building Relationships…

East Harding Construction is thrilled to be expanding the ARMOR Bank corporate office at 2300 Cottondale Lane in Little Rock. This will be our sixth ARMOR Bank project in Arkansas and we couldn’t be more pleased with this growing relationship.

George’s Italian Restaurant

Teams are working to complete the exterior stucco system and preparing for the installation of exterior trim and flashing.

Loving the stylish new windows!

Pine Bluff Main Library Award

The Pine Bluff Main Library, designed by Polk Stanley Wilcox Architects, has been nominated for Building of the Year in ArchDaily’s annual awards. East Harding Construction is proud to have been the Construction Manager for such a wonderful project. If you are a follower of ArchDaily, please consider voting at the link.

George’s Italian Restaurant

The up and coming George’s Italian Restaurant has new Pella architectural doors and windows! The scratch coat for the stucco finish is being applied bringing this boutique restaurant one step closer to welcoming patrons.

Westlake Corporate Office Park Tenant Improvements

The Redding building in the Westlake Corporate Office Park is receiving tenant improvements to approximately 10,000 sf of space. The improvements include creating a new office, carpet and paint.

ASC | Arts & Science Center of Southeast Arkansas

The Arts and Science Center for Southeast Arkansas’ interior renovation includes a new teaching kitchen. This beautiful area, full of modern equipment, will offer years of learning and experience in the culinary arts.

Pine Bluff’s New Family Fun Park

Thursday, December 29th, was the official ground breaking for Pine Bluff’s new Family Fun Park. Van Tilbury, President & CEO and Shawn Carroll, Sr. Vice President of Operations were among the attendees, along with Mayor Shirley Washington and Go Forward Pine Bluff’s Ryan Watley. The Family Fun Park will include go-carts, video games, laser tag and possibly a virtual reality room. “We want to get as close to Dave & Buster’s as possible…” said Watley. This will be a great addition for the Pine Bluff community.

ARMOR Bank Marianna

Armor Bank Marianna is moving along. The team is wrapping up the exterior work, including site paving. The new drive thru looks amazing! Great job team! Next up…interior paint. Carpet & millwork is expected to be ready for install in early January.

ASC | Arts & Science Center of Southeast Arkansas

Building Relationships…

East Harding Construction recently completed renovating ARTSPACE on Main & Art Works on Main for the Arts & Science Center of Southeast Arkansas. We are proud to continue building our relationship with Dr. Rachel Miller & ASC through the partial renovation of the original Arts & Science Center building and alleyway/outdoor event area.

ARMOR Bank Marianna & Forrest City

Building Relationships…

East Harding Construction is proud to continue growing our relationship with ARMOR Bank! After having successfully completed the new construction of Hot Springs’ very first ARMOR Bank branch, East Harding has been contracted for the drive thru addition of ARMOR Bank in Marianna and a partial remodel of the ARMOR Bank drive thru in Forest City. Client Focused Construction is our guiding philosophy and it shows.

Monticello Med Plex

New exciting project in Monticello….

The Monticello Med Plex is off to a great start with teams working to undercut/fill the soil for the building pad. This ground up build will provide much needed modern medical amenities to a rural community. We are looking forward to watching as this promising new facility becomes a reality.

Little Rock Regional Chamber Career Expo 2022

We had a great turn out at the Little Rock Regional Chamber’s Career Expo today! Droves of students poured through the Statehouse Convention Center to explore a multitude of career opportunities. East Harding Construction was thrilled to share their knowledge and experience with the students and enjoyed meeting each and every one that stopped at our booth.

Van Tilbury, President & CEO was there to greet the students, along with Shawn Carroll, VP-Operations, Jake Honeycutt, Asst. Project Manager, Hamoudi James, Office Engineer & Kim Brass, Project Coordinator. They all took turns fielding questions and sharing their experiences. Many of the students donned our hard hats for photo ops that are no doubt already on instagram, twitter, ect…

Thanks to our team for helping make this a great experience for the students and a great event.

Arkansas Boxing Club

Arkansas Boxing Club is getting into fighting shape! With giant fans and over the ring lighting in place, the new boxing venue will be up and training in no time.

George’s Italian Restaurant

George’s Italian Restaurant has a beautiful new roof! Perfectly laid shingles bring the upcoming restaurant closer to the finish line. Mechanical, electrical and plumbing have been roughed in and the HVAC duct work and air handlers are in place. Soon the sheetrock will be up and this empty shell will transform into a beautiful Italian restaurant.

BKD Update | September 2022

MOVING DAY is near! The newly designed office space on the 15th & 16th floors of the Stephens’ building in Little Rock is ready for it’s new tenants. BKD, a national CPA and advisory firm, is set to take over the space and make this beautiful new office home.

Furnished with Steelcase desks and chairs, each work station has an under desk file cabinet which doubles as extra seating for visitors.

There are also private seating nooks scattered about with views over looking the city and open meeting spaces with a contemporary design.

The panoramic view of downtown Little Rock makes this project one of my favorites!

Arkansas Boxing Club

Arkansas Boxing Club is looking GREAT! The Club House is framed and full view windows have been installed. With the bold blue, red and black accents on the freshly painted walls, the Arkansas Boxing Club will soon be ready for the ring.

Great Job Team!

George’s Italian Restaurant

George’s Italian Restaurant is looking great

Framing of the new addition is complete and sheathing has been attached.

Arkansas Boxing Club

The Arkansas Boxing Club renovation is moving right along. The Club House stairs are in place and have been filled with concrete. So excited to see the next step…Framing the Club House.

BKD Update | July 2022

BKD has a fresh coat of paint! One more step towards the finish line

These offices are going to be beautiful!

Camden-Fairview School District

The Camden Fairview School District has even more new floors installed. This beautiful design gives the school a bright, modern feel everyone is sure to love!

Great work TEAM!

East Harding Construction Adds Four to Team

The professional team is growing at Little Rock-based East Harding Construction. Jake Honeycutt and Will Martin have joined as Assistant Project Managers and Jared Tolhurst and Chris Young as Site Superintendents.

“East Harding Construction is grateful and motivated to be growing during this time marked by supply chain delays, labor shortages and inflation,” said Van Tilbury, President & CEO. “Our ability to attract new employees is a testament to our client-focused, employee-centric culture that helps make us a great partner to our clients and a great place to build a career in commercial construction.”

Founded in 1974, East Harding is a commercial construction manager/general contractor working in Arkansas only and specializing in new construction and renovation for clients in the corporate office, K-12, higher education, healthcare, religious, hospitality, historic renovation, non-profit, retail, banking and industrial sectors. Learn more and find your career at www.eastharding.com.

Group Photo from left to right: Jared Tolhurst – Site Superintendent, Jake Honeycutt – Asst. Project Manager, William Martin – Asst. Project Manager & Chris Young – Site Superintendent.

George’s Italian Restaurant

The additional space being added to the renovation of George’s Italian Restaurant is almost ready for framing! With the piers set and floor joists in place, decking is underway. So excited to see the progress being made! Thanks to the teams making it happen!

Arkansas Boxing Club

The Arkansas Boxing Club renovation is well underway! Crews are working hard to rough in the plumbing and get ready for the next phase.

Have a Safe & Happy 4th of July!

AMERICA – Home of the Free, Because of the Brave.

BKD Update | June 2022

The new office space for BKD, a national CPA and advisory firm relocating to the Stephens building, is really taking shape. Sheetrock is up and partitions are set. This project is moving along nicely and the view is incredible!

Camden-Fairview High School

The Camden-Fairview High School Library has a new floor and it looks amazing!

Great Job Team!

Arkansas Boxing Club

East Harding Construction is very excited to kick off the renovation of the Arkansas Boxing Club’s new training facility. Located at 720 W. 8th street, the 7000 sf (approx.) building will provide a 4000 sf gym area with a raised clubhouse box suite and ring, a large entertaining foyer, a warming/serving kitchen, a laundry and men and women’s restrooms/showers with lockers.

The upgraded facility will help Arkansas Boxing Club keep making a difference in the community and in the lives of the young people they train.

Pine Bluff Main Library

Getting Landscaped

A variety of shrubs and trees along with fresh sod are being placed to accent this beautiful new library located in downtown Pine Bluff. Flower beds will line the walkways welcoming eager minds into a new and exciting world of learning.

SEARK College | Demolition of General Studies Buildings

SEARK College

General Studies

We are so excited to be a part of the improvements at SEARK College!

Steve Bloomberg, President-SEARK College (left) & Win Trafford, Business Development & Client Relations-East Harding Construction (right), visited the demolition site where the General Studies North & South buildings were torn down and cleared.

Pine Bluff Main Library-Aerial Photos

Pine Bluff Main Library

Aerial Photos | August

Southwood Elementary Renovation

The renovation at Southwood Elementary, an integral part of the Pine Bluff School District, is well underway.

As Construction Manager, East Harding Construction, excavated an area and poured the concrete for two new portable buildings to be used as a classrooms.

Closing in the open air courtyard spaces of the main building and adding concrete floors will create over a thousand square feet of much needed classroom storage space.

Lighthouse Charter Schools | Centers for Joy Playground

Lighthouse Charter Schools

Centers for Joy Playground

Simple pleasures…seeing children at play…

This new playground at Lighthouse Charter Schools will bring joy

to many children over the years!

Great Job Guys!

Pine Bluff Main Library-Interior Photos

Pine Bluff Main Library

Interior Photos

The beautiful new Pine Bluff Main Library is in the final stages. With only a few punch list items and some paving and landscape left, we expect the interior to start filling up with furniture, books, computers, wall decor and all the accessories that will make this library an even more extraordinary place to read, research, learn or just spend some downtime.

Can’t wait to see you there!

ARTSpace on Main and ART WORKS

The ARTSpace on Main & ART Works

Arts and Science Center for Southeast Arkansas (ASC)

The walls and foundation of this historic building in downtown Pine Bluff have been shored up and secured. With interior framing & HVAC ductwork in place, we are very excited to see sheet rock being hung!

Have a Safe & Happy 4th of July!

Fourth of July Fireworks

The first fireworks were used as early as 200 BC. The tradition of setting off fireworks on the 4 of July began in Philadelphia on July 4, 1777, during the first organized celebration of Independence Day. Ship’s cannon fired a 13-gun salute in honor of the 13 colonies. The Pennsylvania Evening Post reported: “at night there was a grand exhibition of fireworks (which began and concluded with thirteen rockets) on the Commons, and the city was beautifully illuminated.” That same night, the Sons of Liberty set off fireworks over Boston Common.

-History.com Editors