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Bethel Lutheran outlines plan for new Williston nursing facility, seeks roughly $33 million gap in capital campaign
Summary
Bethel Lutheran Nursing and Rehabilitation Center told county commissioners it plans a new facility with skilled‑nursing, basic‑care and assisted‑living units and is beginning design development. Bethel said it can bond $30 million and is preparing a capital campaign to fill the remaining funding gap, with a hoped break‑ground in spring 2025.
Representatives of Bethel Lutheran Nursing and Rehabilitation Center told the Williams County Board on Dec. 17 they are planning a new facility in Williston to replace their existing nursing home, which they said cannot meet current life‑safety requirements.
"We are looking to build a new facility," Belinda, CEO and administrator, told commissioners. She described plans that would include skilled nursing beds, basic‑care rooms and assisted‑living apartments, plus continued rehabilitation services such as physical, occupational and speech therapy.
Bethel officials said many existing resident rooms lack in‑room showers, a life‑safety requirement they cannot meet in the current building; renovation costs made replacement more feasible than an extensive remodel. Belinda said the organization expects to finish design development in early 2025, enter a quiet phase of its capital campaign shortly thereafter and hopes to break ground in April 2025 if fundraising proceeds as anticipated.
On financing, Bethel told the board it can bond $30,000,000 for the project. The transcript contains inconsistent numeric references to the campaign gap; the presenter later referred to "$33,000,000 is a lot of money," and staff discussion treated the fundraising need as a multi‑million dollar gap. For clarity, Bethel described the remaining need as roughly in the low tens of millions and said it will return to the commission with updates as the quiet phase of the capital campaign begins.
Keith Loughgren, director of the Bethel Lutheran Foundation, said the foundation is working with a consultant to prepare a full business plan for major donors and will bring that plan back to the public side of the campaign once design development is complete. When asked by a commissioner whether Bethel is requesting a specific county contribution, representatives said they were seeking any help and asked the board to stay engaged and informed; the county asked to be kept in the loop and for Bethel to notify staff when the capital campaign kicks off.
Bethel noted recent regional nursing‑home closures and described retaining elders in the community as a primary objective. The presenters asked commissioners to be aware of the project and said they will return to the board with further details and formal funding requests as available.
