New Stearns County Justice Center In St. Cloud Begins With Tree Clearing
ST. CLOUD (WJON News) -- The preliminary work on the new Stearns County Justice Center on the west side of St. Cloud has begun.
County officials say the first thing that needs to happen is tree clearing. From there, they'll be doing some site prep.
The land is located northeast of the intersection of County Road 75 and County Road 134, formerly in St. Joseph Township. It was annexed into the city of St. Cloud, which is a requirement because St. Cloud is the county seat.
The county is building a new 428,000 square-foot complex that includes a new 270-bed jail, 11 courtrooms, a new sheriff's office, and a county attorney's office.
The project will be paid for through a 3/8-cent sales tax approved by voters in 2024.
The original estimate for the project was just under $325-million, but Facilities Manager Kevin Korneck says after they've crunched the bid numbers, the project cost is comfortably below the $290-million mark.
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