State board outlines $10 million Badura Nursery rebuild, shortlists three design teams for interviews

The State Designer Selection Board on March 4 reviewed proposals and clarified the scope for a planned reconstruction and modernization of the Badura nursery, a Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) tree‑seedling production site, and voted to interview three short‑listed design teams.

Board members and DNR staff described the work as demolition and replacement of an outdated seed extractory, remodeling of a pine‑cone storage building, demolition and replacement in kind of an old packing house, a roughly 500‑square‑foot office addition and site work to improve vehicle and material flow. Brian, the DNR agency representative, said the nursery currently produces “3 to 4 million native Minnesota‑sourced seedlings and approximately 600 pounds of seed annually” and that much of the existing packing, storage and circulation layout is inefficient for modern equipment such as pallet jacks and forklifts.

The project is funded with a $10,000,000 bond allocation, and the board was told that the budget must cover design, permitting and construction. Agency staff said equipment replacement or specification would need to be…