Infrastructure and framework for a 120,000-square-foot multi-use pandemic response center is underway on the grounds of The Expo in Central Point.

Footings for the outline of the facility took shape within the past two weeks amid the hustle and bustle of crews finalizing underground infrastructure.

Adroit Construction, contracted by Jackson County officials last year to build the $61.5-million project, broke ground in late July following the 2024 Jackson County Fair.

Ryan DeSautel, facilities director for the county, said structural steel framework should be delivered and erected in March.

Once complete, the county will operate the facility as a hub for managing regional emergencies while the city of Central Point will utilize a third of the facility as a long-awaited community center.

The facility will include a large commercial kitchen and shower facilities, and could be used for everything from aid distribution to vaccination clinics to temporary shelter in the event of a community emergency.

County officials said a regional need for a centralized response center became evident during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and the Almeda and South Obenchain fires that occurred the same year.

For non-emergency use, the facility will provide office space for the neighboring Expo fairgrounds, as well as capacity for sporting and other large events.

The main floor will include eight full-size basketball courts, two of which will be used for Central Point after-school programs, community learning workshops and activities.

The city of Central Point, which contributed 30% or $1.1 million toward the $3.8-million design process by ORW Architecture, will have a 35-year initial lease for its portion of the facility.

John Gilbert, site superintendent for Adroit, said underground work for sewer, water, electrical and lighting systems were all nearing completion.

“We’re on schedule. Come spring, it’ll really start getting crazy,” Gilbert told the Rogue Valley Times in late January.

By design, the project will have two main entrances — one for county uses and one for the Central Point Community Center. A parklike setting will be designed for an area between the facility and the nearby Family Fun Center.

DeSautel said it was rewarding to see the project go from design phase to planned delivery of steel framework since last year.

“In a couple of months, things are going to look significantly different,” he said.

“We spent a year designing it. … Watching it actually come together has been pretty rewarding.”

DeSautel said the project had stayed under the project “Guaranteed Maximum Price” for construction of $53.4 million and was on schedule for a May 2026 completion.

Funding for the project was approved as part of the county’s annual budget process in June. The county will use a combination of $39,046,207 from the Federal American Rescue Plan Act and approximately $21 million in general fund reserves.

Jackson County commissioners approved an intergovernmental agreement with the city of Central Point in early July.