County staff outline costs and next steps for downtown and concourse facility projects; commissioners ask for financial breakdown and tours

Pennington County staff presented an overview of the county's recent building acquisitions and the status of remodel budgets and financing during the Jan. 7 commissioners meeting.

Commission Manager Davis Purcell summarized three properties: 900 Concourse (a 76,000-square-foot building purchased in September 2022 for about $6.9 million), the former First Interstate Bank building (purchase price reported as $5 million in mid-2023) and 14 St. Joe (purchased in 2023 for roughly $5 million, described as a centrally located, approximately 90,000-square-foot building). Purcell said the concourse remodel budget appears in the packet at about $9.3 million (an initial figure that includes furniture, fixtures and equipment estimates), and that the interior fit-out and remaining change orders will affect the final total. For a Public Defender operations build-out at First Interstate, Purcell said the initial remodel budget was $1.625 million and projected costs currently are roughly $1.028 million.

Purcell also placed the remodel budgets and purchase prices in the context of the board's bond proceeds and other project proceeds, noting a rough remaining pool of proceeds for future work after accounting for current projects; he said the county is also advancing preliminary design fees for a new jail project, but said bonding and final construction funding remain separate decisions.

Commissioners requested a fuller accounting: several asked staff to present a detailed breakdown of bond proceeds, ARPA allocations and other funding sources tied to each purchase and remodel, and to provide a timeline and remaining budget for the jail-design effort. Commissioners suggested an on-site tour of county properties (including the concourse space, the existing jail footprint, and other county buildings) to help the full board understand space needs, traffic/drainage impacts and operational considerations. One commissioner noted consultant capacity-cost estimates showing substantial future costs if the county had to build new facilities later, which was cited as part of the rationale for purchasing and repurposing existing buildings now.

Why it matters: Facility purchases and remodels commit significant county resources and affect long-term capital planning, utilities and operating costs; commissioners sought transparency on funding sources and how purchases affect the remaining project pool.

Next steps: Staff will prepare a detailed financing breakdown, including bond proceeds and ARPA usages, supply a consolidated spreadsheet of acquisition and remodel costs, and work with select commissioners to schedule tours of the properties. The county will also continue design work on the jail project with BKB (the county's design firm), and staff indicated they will limit design to agreed milestones until the board decides on construction funding strategies.

Speakers quoted here spoke during the Jan. 7 meeting.