Upland Design Group

10/21/2026

Big news for Smithville! The DeKalb County Board of Education gave final approval for the new Smithville Elementary School, and the project came in under original estimates. Thank you to the Board, RG Anderson, and DeKalb County for your support, and we can’t wait to see construction begin!

The price is right!

The cost to build the new Smithville Elementary School is $45.6 million, more than $1.1 million below original estimates.

The DeKalb County Board of Education met briefly in a special called session Monday night to give final approval for a Guaranteed Maximum Price from the CMC/CMR (Construction Manager RG Anderson) to build the new Smithville Elementary School.

https://youtu.be/t8i7_7z9zlU?si=qoxvOB3kVGvEiwtn

The vote was 5-0 for approval from board members Jason Miller, Danny Parkerson, Alan Hayes, Jesse Sutton, and Megan Moore. Board members Shaun Tubbs and Jim Beshearse were absent

The actual construction costs comes to $45,620,436 according to Brian Templeton, Principal for Upland Design Group, the Board of Education’s architect, who addressed the school board Monday night.

The costs to build the school is $1,168,564 less than the original projected costs and well within the 30-year detailed bond resolution amount not to exceed $55 million issued by the county commission earlier this year. The new 800 student pre-K to 2nd grade elementary school will be built near Northside Elementary School on North Congress Boulevard.

Construction is to begin the first week in November and the new school is expected to be completed in 608 calendar days by July 2, 2028

“The size of the building is 120,980 square feet and it is designed to have classroom space for 800 students when it opens but we are also planning for future additions that can hold eight more classrooms bumping it up to about 960 students total,” said Templeton.

10/14/2026

Construction update from the Crossville Family YMCA. Exterior progress continues with site work, sidewalks, and metal wall panel installation. Interior work includes acoustic baffle installation in the natatorium, tile work underway in the lower-level locker rooms and drywall / painting / finish work throughout.

10/09/2026

Construction progress from Burgess Falls State Park Visitor Center. As exterior site construction is wrapping up and interior build-out work continues, project completion is approaching. We're very excited to see this project open to the public soon and become the welcome gate to a beautiful state park.

09/01/2026

Upland Design Group is proud to share the completion of the new Academic Building and Truck Driving Facility for the Tennessee College of Applied Technology Upper Cumberland.

This 16,896 square foot facility was designed to expand hands on training opportunities for students entering skilled trades. The building includes a spacious Meeting Room, a Diesel Classroom, and a Truck Driving CDL Classroom equipped with a driving simulator, along with supporting office and administrative spaces.

At the heart of the facility is a 7,000 square foot Diesel Technology Lab, giving students a real world environment to build the technical skills needed for careers in diesel technology.

Thank you to TCAT Upper Cumberland and the Tennessee Board of Regents for the opportunity to support workforce education in this community.

09/01/2026

08/25/2026

We were honored to attend the ribbon cutting for the Fentress County Higher Education Center yesterday morning. As a partnership between Roane State Community College and Tennessee College of Applied Technology, this project allows the two institutions to share a single facility and giving the local community expanded options for higher education. The facility will house a diverse range of programs, including Allied Health disciplines such as Certified Nursing Assistant, EMT, Pre-Nursing, and Licensed Practical Nursing, alongside Automotive Technology, Welding / Manufacturing Technology, and Building Construction Technology.

We would like to thank the Tennessee Board of Regents, Roane State Community College, and Tennessee College of Applied Technology - Oneida/Huntsville for their trust and dedication to helping bring this project from design to reality.

08/21/2026

Please join us in congratulating our very own Bo Howard for earning his architectural license!

Bo's work at Upland Design Group has been incredibly valuable to our firm, particularly his contributions to K–12 educational facilities. He led the design for Smithville Elementary School and Lafayette Elementary School, which is currently under construction. We're proud of Bo for the hard work and dedication it took to becoming a licensed Architect, and we're excited to see the continued impact he'll have with our clients and the communities we serve.

Congratulations, Bo!

08/17/2026

Upland Design Group is proud to share the completion of the Cumberland County Historic Courthouse renovation. Built in 1905 and expanded in the 1970s, this building remains the heart of county government, housing the county mayor, register of deeds, veterans services, finance, and human resources offices.

The historic Large Courtroom now serves as the county commission chamber. Above it, three oak trusses supporting the clock tower cupola required significant structural repair. The structure is celebrated and represented through drywall soffits shaping the new ceiling design. At the back of the chamber, the original window openings, once an exterior wall before the 1970s addition, now hold display cases showcasing historic artifacts from Cumberland County's past. In the corridors, plaster was removed throughout to reveal the repaired and sealed structural brick walls beneath. The rough, weathered texture stands in contrast to the new drywall, creating a clear delineation between the new and old methods of construction.

Thank you to Stubbs Construction Services LLC who served as the general contractor for the renovation phase of the project, as well as Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates - WJE and Buckeye Construction & Restoration for their work on the structural repair and historic preservation of the building envelope. And finally, thank you to Cumberland County, TN for trusting us with a project so important to the local community. It has been an honor to help preserve this landmark for generations to come.

07/10/2026

Thank you to everyone invovled in this project, especially County Executive Terry Bell and Director Andrea Fox, for helping ensure this was a successful project for a deserving community. We're thankful to have been a part of it and look forward to working together again.

07/09/2026

In the latest edition of "Bring Your Grandson to Work Day", one of our principals, Kim Chamberlin, took a site visit to the Crossville Family YMCA to show Junior Project Enjoyer, Max, the construction progress and all the different recreation options the YMCA will be able to offer once completed.