Major Military Upgrade in Fargo: New $33M Headquarters Coming

To help make some of North Dakota's military training programs run more smoothly and efficiently, a massive new project will soon be underway in Fargo.

According to Inforum, the Air National Guard's 119th Wing will get a new headquarters estimated at a whopping $33 million.

The first phase of funding has been approved by the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee. This gives them approximately $2 million to draw up plans and designs.

The source says the purpose of the new facility is to consolidate the Air National Guard's Regional Training Site. Instead of operating out of multiple buildings, this will be one 22,400 square-foot facility.

The existing headquarters is now 66 years old and has operational insufficiencies; it is no longer cost-efficient to maintain and repair the multiple outdated facilities. The source quotes Sen. John Hoeven, R-North Dakota, as saying this new, larger facility will be more adequate to house the various aspects of the 119th Wing's missions.

Some might say this investment points to the future or evolving role of the North Dakota Air National Guard in domestic and global military operations. Looking just recently, the North Dakota Air National Guard was called to help with the Texas floods.

(Also Read: Texas Flood Recovery Gets Crucial Help From North Dakota's Air National Guard)

The source says a design contract is expected to be awarded within the next few weeks, and currently, the goal is to have a proposed floor plan completed by 2026.

A decision on where they will place the building has not been made yet; they will make that decision once a floor plan proposal has been approved.

Once the construction of the facility is complete, training programs such as rapid airfield damage repair and other specialized training programs will take place.