Waite Park Breaks Ground on City Hall Expansion

(KNSI) – Waite Park began the process to expand its public safety facilities seven years ago. Officials held a groundbreaking ceremony Monday that finally kickstarted the construction phase of making that dream a reality.

The city council already approved the first series of bid packages centered around demolition and materials with a long order backlog. The rest of the construction contracts should get the go-ahead next month. Administrator Shaunna Johnson confidently says, “I’m anticipating that we’ll have hopefully a good bid in July, and then that’ll move forward the bulk of the remaining part of that project.”

She reiterates the timeline for the work remains on track for completion in the back half of 2026. “I think we’re very excited to be moving forward. We’re still, I think, on plan for it to be between 16 and 18 months. It’s hard to know until we get all of those pieces. There could be one more phase to this, which could be a Phase Three. Might be in the landscaping areas and some of those other exterior ground finishings and things.”

Johnson reflected on the entire process. They had initially thought they asked for too much in terms of sales tax revenue, but had to adjust to soaring cost estimates during the pandemic and COVID-related construction delays. The initial hope was a standalone public safety facility with police and fire moving out of City Hall. Instead, the renovations will roughly double the existing facility on 13th Avenue North.

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