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Commissioners in Pennington County have approved a nearly $3 million construction bid to begin remodeling the former county administration building in Rapid City.
The vote clears the way for renovations at 130 Kansas City Street, a facility partially vacated last fall when most administrative offices relocated to the new county administration building at 900 East Concourse Drive.
The remodel will transform 35,000 square feet of the older structure into updated workspace for relocated and expanding county departments.
To officially launch the project, commissioners approved a $2,937,250 construction bid from SECO Construction — the lowest of seven companies that submitted proposals.
The renovation focuses primarily on interior reconfiguration and modernization.
“Essentially, it's demolition of walls, flooring, you know, ceiling, things like that, and then reworking those spaces. It's your typical remodel. I mean, imagine sort of gutting your house and starting all over. We're just not doing that in the entire building, but in various spots we are,” said Davis Purcell, Pennington County Director of Buildings and Grounds.
The work will allow the county to consolidate services into a more functional layout while maximizing use of existing public facilities rather than constructing an entirely new building.
In addition to approving the construction bid, commissioners authorized a bond fund of up to $4.1 million to cover the full scope of the project.
That additional funding accounts for:
“A million dollars, you know, seems like a lot, but in this day and age, when you start to include those items into a project, it goes really quick, but we tried to be as frugal as we could,” Purcell said.
County officials emphasized that the contingency cushion is intended to prevent delays or cost overruns during construction, particularly as material and labor prices remain volatile.
When complete, the remodeled space at 130 Kansas City Street will house several relocated departments and support expansion of key public services.
Among the offices moving into the building:
The reorganization is part of a broader facilities plan that began when county administration offices moved to the new East Concourse Drive building in November.
Currently, the county’s buildings and grounds department and public defenders operate out of 14 St. Joseph Street. That property will soon transition to new occupants.
With approval secured, demolition work is expected to begin quickly.
“And now that we have approval, we're looking at, hopefully, to start demo in March, so within a month, hopefully, and then project completion will be October or November of this year. And then we will move out, vacate that 14 St. Joe building, and then pass it along to School of Mines and Elevate,” Purcell said.
Once vacated, the St. Joseph Street building will be utilized by Elevate Rapid City and South Dakota Mines, further advancing downtown development partnerships.
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The Kansas City Street remodel reflects a long-term effort by Pennington County leaders to modernize facilities, consolidate operations and improve efficiency for both employees and the public.
By investing in upgrades to existing structures rather than building entirely new space, commissioners aim to balance fiscal responsibility with service expansion. Officials say the project will improve workflow for legal and emergency services while creating more functional public-facing offices.
If construction remains on schedule, departments could begin relocating into the remodeled building before the end of the year — marking another milestone in the county’s evolving infrastructure plan.
Originally reported by Jerry Steinley in News Center1.
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