It came as a surprise to Alec Macdonald, Grundy County Development Director, but the new health department building is coming in both on schedule and on budget.

He told the county board Tuesday night that prices have stabilized, which wasn’t expected given how volatile pricing was coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We’re still forecasted to finish the building in quarter four of 2026,” Macdonald said. “Weather has caused some minor temporary slowdowns, but contingency allowances in the schedule are expected to absorb those without impacting the overall timeline.”

The building is budgeted to cost $10 million, and it will be an 18,000-square-foot home to the Grundy County Health Department. It will be located on School Street, next to the Grundy County Administration Building.

Macdonald said the building shell is up and the exterior is secure. The roof has been sealed and finished, and the building now has windows. HVAC systems are installed and operational for rough testing. He also said utilities are either installed or contracted out and scheduled.

He said there aren’t any delays expected from Nicor or ComEd, either.

The new building will have spaces for behavioral health, nursing, senior health, building services, the Grundy Kendall Regional Office of Education, environmental health, administration, the Veterans Assistance Commission, and an additional public space.

This project will be paid for partially using the $7 million that Grundy County received as part of the American Rescue Plan. The rest of the project will be paid in cash.