Three Great Falls-based construction companies and Swank Enterprises of Kalispell will vie for the chance to build Flathead County’s South Campus Building.

The county commissioners on Tuesday unanimously voted to accept the four bids. They will award the winning bid at 10:15 a.m. Monday.

The county has allocated $6 million to construct a two-story facility along First Avenue West south of the Earl Bennett Building. It will provide space for the Agency on Aging, Health Department services such as the dental clinic and space for the Maintenance Department.

The South Campus Building will be a “bookend” building to the Earl Bennett Building, with the potential for future construction of a third floor as space is needed. A sky bridge to connect the two buildings also has been considered, but that would be a future project as well.

Oswood Construction Co., a family-owned construction company headquartered in Great Falls, submitted the apparent low bid of $5,950,000.

Bids also included separate cost figures for essential food-service equipment and optional food-service equipment.

Oswood Construction’s bid for the essential food-service equipment is $517,000, with optional equipment bid at $60,000.

Food-service equipment was bid separately because funding comes from a different county fund.

Swank Enterprises’ lump-sum bid was $5,969,000 for construction; $530,000 for food-service equipment and $63,000 for the optional equipment.

Swank was the general contractor for the Earl Bennett Building built in 2001.

Sletten Construction of Great Falls bid $6,250,000 with the food-service bids at $532,000 and $58,000.

Dick Anderson Construction of Great Falls bid $6,416,000 with the food-service bids at $527,200 and $57,500. 

Construction is targeted to begin in March 2015 with completion in the fall. CTA Architects Engineers of Kalispell designed the building.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by email at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.