On Monday morning, the Mesa County Board of Commissioners approved a construction contract for a new Workforce Center in Grand Junction.

The construction will begin sometime next year.

County officials plan to build the new facility on county-owned property at 512, 29 1/2 Road, next to the Community Services building. They say that providing the Workforce Center's services in close proximity to other county programs will make access more convenient for residents.

The contract approved on Monday authorizes a local company, FCI Constructors, to build the 32,000 square-foot facility at a cost of $5.4 million, which is slightly less that the amount budgeted for the construction project.

The existing facility is located at 2897 North Avenue.

According to county officials, the current building is aging and overcrowded, and has infrastructure problems that would require significant spending to repair.

With the completion of the 29 Road overpass and new development along North Avenue, the current owner plans to eventually sell the property for commercial development, according to officials with Mesa County.

The new facility, which will be built sometime in 2013, will also allow Mesa County to eliminate other leases, which county officials say will help defray the costs of the project.