Stearns County Justice Center Looks Like It’s Coming in Under Budget, Boosting Local Economy

(KNSI) – The Stearns County Justice Center project looks like it’s coming in well under budget, and a large chunk of that construction money is staying right here in the region.

Stearns County Facilities Manager Kevin Kornick told county commissioners on Tuesday that preliminary construction costs are significantly lower than expected. The project had been estimated at the design development stage at more than $324,900,000. Kornick told the commission hard construction costs are now coming in far below that mark. “With all of those things pulled together, our overall construction budget sits comfortably below $290,000,000. And if you recall at design development, we were at $324,900,000. So, that’s a remarkably good bid day.”

That figure includes contingencies.

225 individual bids were submitted for the massive project, a record number that even surprised veterans of large-scale construction projects in the region. The bids were broken into 54 different scopes of work, covering everything from painting to electrical work. Kornick credits the project’s architects, engineers, and construction managers for producing a strong set of bid documents on what he called a complicated, multi-use building.

Kornick says when all is said and done, the local economic impact will be significant. “I predict that about 60% of the hard cost dollar value will go to firms that are local to Stearns County. So that’s a very big number.”

The justice center will combine court facilities, a jail, and publicly accessible spaces under one roof.

The county will now meet with the lowest bidders to confirm they can handle the jobs they submitted proposals for, then bring the final bids back for commission approval at the March 10th meeting.

Despite the lower construction costs, commissioners have indicated they are not interested in expanding the project. In May 2025, the justice center was reduced by 27,501 square feet to approximately 482,000 square feet. An entire floor was cut, bringing the building from five stories to four. The fifth level would have been mostly vacant initially but would have allowed for future growth of the court facilities.

The justice center will feature a 270-bed jail, 11 courtrooms, and offices for the Sheriff and County Attorney. Groundbreaking for the facility at the intersection of County Road 75 and County Road 134 is scheduled for spring, with completion expected in 2029.

The project is being funded through a countywide three-eighths cent sales tax, not property taxes. Voters approved the sales tax in November 2024, to remain in place for 30 years or until the project is paid off, whichever comes first.

___