BOZEMAN — Gallatin County announced that the County Commission has finalized the purchase of the Farm Bureau Building in Bozeman, located at 502 S. 19th. Ave., just east of the Law and Justice Center.
A media release said closing documents for the 24,000 square-foot building were signed on Thursday, Dec. 1, 2022. The purchase will add space "for current and future county operations to continue serving our growing population," according to the release.
“It’s a great addition to our Law and Justice Center campus for our growing county,” said Commissioner Scott MacFarlane. “Purchasing an existing building and renovating is a more economical choice than building new. Getting this facility is a better deal for taxpayers and will help us serve our citizens for years to come.”
The purchase price was reportedly $3.6 million, with approximately $150,000 in additional fees.
Gallatin County will now begin the development of remodeling plans, with the Fall of 2023 targeted as the remodel start date.
The release said although a finalized list of county offices that will move to the building is not complete, Court Services and 911 Records are expected to relocate.
“During our public outreach for the bond to build our new courts building, we told the public that we planned on building a new facility on the Law and Justice Center campus for other programming that wasn’t going to be in the new courts building. We are following through on that promise, but in a different way that enables us to get about twice the space for the same price as building new,” said Gallatin County Commissioner Joe Skinner.
County Commissioners are also in the process of determining if any space will be rented to non-county organizations, including the 15 current tenants.
The current tenants will remain in place during the transition. The release said if any tenants are ultimately displaced, "the county will assist them with temporary and/or permanent relocation."
“As we take over this building as the new owners, we are committed to working with each current tenant to help make this transition as seamless as possible,” said Gallatin County Commissioner Zach Brown. “In the coming months, we will work with each tenant on a transition plan, eventually leading up to a remodel followed by moving in our county departments.”
According to Gallatin County, the Farm Bureau Building purchase is one among several ongoing capital projects intended to add space, upgrade aging facilities, and provide better customer service to county residents.
(CORRECTION, 3:22 p.m. MST: An earlier version of this article misstated the size of the Farm Bureau Building as 22,000 square feet.)
