SALISBURY — When the Rowan County Board of Commissioners voted in 2023 to approve moving forward with the construction of a new Rowan County Health Department facility inside the Rowan Community Center, formerly known as the West End Plaza, the expected price tag was north of $20 million. On Monday, the commissioners voted to award the construction contract at significantly less than that number, approximately $15 million.

The bidding was awarded to Holden Building Company, who submitted the lowest cost for the base contract, the interior renovation of the building into the health department facility, at approximately $12 million, which was “significantly under budget,” said Gina Moore, senior principal with ADW Architects. ADW has been handling the planning and bidding phases of the project. With the contract alternatives, which included drive-thru lanes, skylights and exterior improvements, the bid was raised to approximately $14.8 million, which remained the lowest among the five companies that submitted bids.

The second-lowest bid was submitted by the Batson-Cook Company, at approximately $15.2 million with all of the alternatives included. Other companies that submitted bids included Miles-McClellan at approximately $16.2 million, Monteith Construction Corp at approximately $15.27 million and Wharton-Smith at approximately $15.8 million.

The move for the health department comes as a result of the department’s lack of space for expansion in its current location, which it shares with the Rowan County Department of Social Services.

If the project follows the current plan, the new space in West End Plaza would host 22 exam rooms, up from the 14 in the current East Innes Street building. With the recent Medicaid expansion, the extra space will be needed to accommodate the additional eligible patients, said Health Director Alyssa Harris at the meeting where the plan was approved.

The funding for the project will come from multiple sources, with the commissioners wanting to avoid using local funding as much as possible. Commissioner Craig Pierce asked for a breakdown on how the project would be paid for, to which county Finance Director Anna Bumgarner said that $10 million of the funding would come from the American Rescue Plan Act, while the remaining budgeted $15 million would come from the county’s fund balance. County Manager Aaron Church said that approximately $5 million of the fund balance appropriation would actually come from Medicaid cost reimbursements, leaving the county with $10 million in committed local funding, which is expected to be further reduced by the lowered construction costs.