(KTTS News) — Christian County leaders have unveiled plans for a new county campus located away from downtown.

The project will be developed in multiple phases on more than 39-acres of land near Jackson and 25th street, west of Highway 65.

Development will take between ten and 20 years.

The first phase will include relocating the offices at 1106 W. Jackson Street, relocating the county recycling center, setting up a public gathering space, and building an outdoor walking trail.

Press Release

The Christian County Commission has taken steps to begin development
of a new county government campus, which it says will meet the needs of future generations of county citizens as well as create economic development opportunities right away.

The center of Christian County government operations has been located on the historic square in downtown Ozark for more than a century.

According to an abstract of the twelfth census of the United States, the population of Christian County in 1900 was 16,939 persons.

The most recent census taken in 2020 lists a population of 88,842 and suggests a continued increase to more than 105,000 county residents by 2030.

The population explosion of the 1980s in Christian County led to a seemingly endless battle, forcing County leaders to find ways to expand or create new office space to keep up with the demands of a continuously growing population while remaining within the limited available space on the Ozark Historic Square.

For years, elected officials agreed that the buildings and physical infrastructure required to meet the needs of a 21st century Christian County have far outgrown the space initially considered back in the 1800s, and that a move to a new location with elbow room was the ultimate solution.

All would agree the economic conditions in the early 2000s certainly would not have allowed such a project, but perhaps the dream was still too big.

In late 2019, Commissioners Ralph Phillips, Hosea Bilyeu and Mike Robertson unanimously agreed it was time to take action.

The first step was to invest in an appropriate piece of land that had good access and sufficient acreage to someday support all of the County’s offices in one
place.

The Commission identified and purchased a 39.36 acre tract of land in an excellent
location near Jackson and 25th Street, just west of US 65 highway.

Having made the purchase prior to the current real estate boom, the Commission’s decision to act sooner rather than later is a direct savings to the community, as the value of this asset has increased significantly in just two years.

The County Commission, working with staff and its contracted engineering firm, have used the past two years to create a masterplan for a future campus which will have space to accommodate County offices and services now as well as room for the inevitable growth in the years to come.

The intention is to provide facilities appropriate for the citizens of a first-class
county.

The full development of this site will take place in multiple phases which could span ten to twenty years.

Presiding Commissioner Ralph Phillips said, “It’s difficult to take the first step on a
journey whose end is beyond the horizon, but this is what my fellow Commissioners and I have unanimously agreed to do.

I firmly believe this project will position Christian County to meet the needs of generations to come, and I am hopeful that I’ll be around to see its full completion
years from now.”

Phillips went on to say, ”At this moment, the County finds itself in a position to move forward with an initial phase of development. We are happy to be working with the City of Ozark to finalize plans for the platting and infrastructure planning. The work we have planned can be done without the need for any special financing in the forms of loans, bonds or tax initiatives. We have agreed to invest a portion of the County’s ARPA funds into the expansion of water and sewer infrastructure to serve this property and increase connectivity to others. By leveraging a portion of those funds and combining them with the expected proceeds from the sale of properties we will be moving away from, the County is prepared to move forward with a first phase at this new campus.”

The initial components which the public are likely to take notice of are:

• Installation of water, sewer, and stormwater management infrastructure at the site
• The creation of a half-mile walking trail in a natural setting for the public to use, which will be surfaced with recycled tire material, with the goal of connecting to planned and existing trail systems throughout the county
• An innovative detention basin designed to serve as a small outdoor venue which can be used for public gatherings
• Relocation of the County’s Recycling Center, which will make it more accessible
• Relocation of the departments currently located at 1106 W. Jackson St.

The Commission wants to be clear that the timeframe for completing the entire plan will occur over the next ten to twenty years.

Future phases will include a centerpiece structure which would be home to the offices of County elected officials, parking facilities, and facilities for Emergency Management and Law Enforcement.

The Commission was able to determine early on that the County’s projected needs will not require full use of the entire 39.36 acre tract.

Knowing this, a plan was developed to create four ready-made commercial sites along the perimeter.

These sites, being near major roads and having electric, water, and sewer set up with natural gas available, represent significant and attractive economic development location opportunities for Christian County.

“We are looking forward to working with our local communities and with our economic
development organization, Show Me Christian County, to highlight the excellent opportunities to come for further development in our county,” Phillips said. “This project’s growth will rely on proactive collaboration, communication, and partnership, and I think we have a great team in place across organizations to get it done.”

Additional economic growth opportunities will develop as the County relocates
operations away from two of its currently owned properties, making those existing
commercial sites available.