ABERDEEN, S.D. (Dakota News Now) – At it’s December meeting, the South Dakota Board of Regents approved the final facility plans for Northern State’s new business and health innovation center.
The $31.5 million project will now begin construction in the spring, following the demolition of Lincoln and Briscoe Halls. The tentative date to finish construction is sometime in July of 2025, in time for the Fall 2025 academic semester.
$29.5 million is being provided to the project as Capital Projects Funds from the American Rescue Plan Act. That funding was finally approved by the U.S. Treasury earlier this year, and an additional $1.5 million was provided by the South Dakota Legislature for planning purposes as a General Fund Appropriation.
“We did a little bit of planning, but really didn’t move too far forward with that, because we were waiting on word from that federal funding. In March of 2023, because we were still in a holding pattern, the legislature generously approved $1.5 million in state funds to allow us to move forward with planning,” NSU Vice President of Finance and Administration Veronica Paulson said at the SDBOR’s December meeting.
Those ARPA funds require that the new center provide space for community access, and Paulson said there’s space for people to come utilize resources for a number of business and healthcare opportunities.
“We have incorporated spaces to support community access. Community members will be able to come in and have a Zoom interview lined up with someone remotely, or they can work on a resume, submit an online job application. They can come in and have a telehealth appointment with a remote healthcare provider,” Paulson said.
“Because there are federal dollars, federal ARPA dollars attached to these, this has been a process. We’ve had a lot of back and forth with the Governor’s office, hired a consultant to assist with getting these projects through,” SDBOR System Vice President of Finance and Administration said at the December meeting.
The new center will be the home to Northern State’s new nursing program. NSU has utilized South Dakota State University’s accelerated nursing program on campus, and that program will come to an end in December of 2026 once Northern State’s own program starts up.
“The NSU nursing program has been approved, so that will now be in this new facility. Originally, we were working with South Dakota State University, and their Accelerated Nursing Program would move into this space,” Paulson said.
The rest of the $31.5 million budget will come from Northern State’s auxiliary system plant funds, $450,000 in total, to help with the removal of asbestos and demolition of Briscoe Hall.
“I don’t anticipate utilizing the full $450,000, but we don’t have the bids in yet for the asbestos abatement and the demolition. We would only use those funds to the extent necessary for Briscoe Hall,” Paulson said.
Once a bid is selected for the demolition of Briscoe Hall, that work can begin sometime early next year, with construction slated to start in the spring.