Brazos County approves $974K increase to administration building renovations

The additional cost approved by commissioners does not require new funding, as the project was originally under budget, said Trevor Lansdown, Brazos County’s director of project management.

He said demolition began in December in the sanctuary and north wing of the building, which is over 40 years old.

Lansdown said the remodeled north wing will house Brazos County Human Resources, and the remodeled sanctuary space will include a new commissioners’ courtroom on the first floor and the budget office, auditor’s office and project management office on the second floor.

The project also upgrades restrooms, adds elevators and replaces the exterior components of the building, such as roofing, flooring and the moisture barrier, according to county information.

The action taken

At the Feb. 24 meeting, commissioners unanimously approved the cost increase, which is necessary to address added water damage and aging infrastructure discovered during demolition of the space, Lansdown said.

All but the building’s shell has been cleared in the sanctuary and north wing spaces, Lansdown said, which has revealed additional issues like mold on exterior sheathing and water pooling inside the sanctuary space from storm pipe failures.

The cost increase addresses additional work, including:

• Replacing all exterior sheathing
• Replacing roof decking
• Removing and replacing concrete and sidewalks on the west side of the building to make the exterior uniform
• Removing additional construction debris and materials
• Additional excavation to help with getting water out and around the building
• Re-routing storm piping

“This building is already over 40 years old, so the hope is that $15 million, ... it sounds like a lot of money, but if you spread it out over the life of the building, the hope is we’re not just building temporary housing; these buildings will endure such that we won’t have to do this in the next 50 to [60] years,” Commissioner Precinct 4 Wanda J. Watson said.

“We want to build resilient—as low-maintenance as we can—buildings that we don’t have to go back into in five or 10 years and reinvest a whole lot of money,” Lansdown said. “A dollar goes a lot further today than it will in five, 10, [or] 20 years, so we’re trying to stretch it as far as we can with these projects.”

What’s next

The additional work needed extends the construction contract with Flintco another 60 days, meaning the project is slated to be substantially complete in May 2027, Lansdown said.

Also on the agenda

During the Feb. 24 meeting, Lansdown also presented a cost estimate to commissioners for deferred maintenance projects at four county facilities. He said an evaluation of the courthouse, detention center, sheriff’s office and the Brazos County Exposition Complex identified nearly $33.99 million in needs over the next 10 years to catch up on maintenance.

• $4.7 million: courthouse
• $18.5 million: detention center
• $9.09 million: Brazos County Expo Center
• $1.7 million: Sheriff’s Office

To help fund deferred maintenance projects and other capital projects, commissioners voted to authorize publication of a notice of the county’s intention to issue up to $45 million in certificates of obligation. Precinct 3 Commissioner Fred Brown opposed the vote. Issuing this debt would result in a projected debt tax rate of $0.04 per $100 valuation for fiscal year 2026-27, Brazos County Auditor Marci Turner said, which is the same rate as in fiscal year 2023-24.