Carver County predesign recommends new government center and renovations, estimates about $82 million

Carver County's consultant team presented a government center predesign Wednesday that recommends demolition of two underperforming campus buildings and construction of a new civic building plus renovations, with a projected total cost of about $81.7 million in 2028 dollars.

Cindy McCleary and Isaac Carly of Leeway Daily walked commissioners through the predesign scope, which refinanced earlier master-plan work and reduced the new-construction program to roughly 95,000 square feet of new space plus renovations of existing buildings (bringing the total programmed square footage to about 125,000). The consulting team's out-of-house cost estimator produced a construction estimate of roughly $65.3 million and, when combined with soft costs (design, furniture, technology, move-management and contingencies), yielded the near-$82 million project figure.

The team recommended a single procurement package for demolition and new construction and suggested a construction-manager-at-risk approach to integrate early contractor input with design. Proposed timing in the predesign calls for demolition in 2027 and new-building bid release in January 2028; the schedule includes public engagement steps and off-ramps for board review before any construction contract is awarded.

Consultants and commissioners discussed staging and logistics, including where staff would work during construction, the possibility of leasing interim space, and whether to phase the project or do the entire campus at once (which may yield savings but would require larger temporary relocation costs). Commissioners asked for clear visual materials and a public-facing explanation of why the project is necessary to help voters understand the plan before any bond or debt decisions are finalized.