By Logan Wells, News Director | Logan@kymnradio.net
The Northfield Community Resource Center (NCRC) is one of the city’s most important, and in the next several years, is set to undergo several construction projects. Several organizations are housed in the NCRC, including FiftyNorth Senior Center, the Community Action Center, Three Rivers Action, Rice County United Way, a daycare, and the Library Oasis. The building is owned by the City of Northfield, providing the space to the tenants at a lower rate than a private landlord.
Northfield Public Works Director Dave Bennitt stated that the now 25-year-old building has several repairs needed:
“The bathrooms are old and outdated. They need to be refreshed and improved. We have original air handling units that need to be replaced in that building. And the chiller is also due for replacement. So just a lot of original items that are really aging.” – Dave Bennett, Northfield Public Works Director/City Engineer at the 6/10/2025 Northfield City Council Work Session
The restroom and locker room renovations are expected to cost approximately $160,000, while the air handling units are estimated to cost nearly $661,000. Among the other repairs and fixes are new flooring, painting walls, replacing ceiling tiles, and installing new boilers. Overall, repairs and additional projects specific to Fifty North & the CAC, mean that all of the projects are expected to cost $5 million over the next several years.
Some of the different projects planned for the NCRC. Read the whole report here.
The city has been proposing different ways to pay for the project’s cost, including raising rents on the tenants in the building. City Administrator Ben Martig says they are also exploring options with the state legislature, with a $2.5 million request submitted earlier this month for the bonding bill:
“That will help us, I think, too. Hopefully that can reduce the tenants’ cost if we can get it [funding from the state].” – Ben Martig, Northfield City Administrator on KYMN In The Morning
Martig stated that he believed that the project is likely to receive funding from the state due to two factors: the regional significance of the project and the small dollar amount.
“Think it’s going to be received well as a regional significant project providing important social service safety net assistance for folks. And it’s a relatively small ask of about two and a half million dollars we’re asking of them.” – Ben Martig. Northfield City Administrator on KYMN In The Morning
The City Council is set to continue to discuss the NCRC going forward through the budgeting season this fall.
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