Hays County Commissioners learned at their June 26 session that the final cost of the Hays County Government Center was $49,785,932.

That figure was about $80 million below the project's original estimate of $130 million. At the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the center's grand opening in December, the building's final cost had been estimated at $63.8 million. Officials said savings came in the design/build phase with construction manager Balfour Beatty PLC.

The government center, 712 S. Stagecoach Trail, in San Marcos, consolidated county offices that had been housed in several buildings throughout the city.