Jamestown National Guard Armory Enters Planning Stage After State, Federal Steps

North Dakota National Guard planners, Jamestown officials and federal appropriations advocates have moved a new readiness center for Jamestown into the planning stage, Col. Cody Volk said, with federal design money in hand and Zerr Berg Architects of Fargo retained for design work. Volk said the planned site lies south of the North Dakota State Hospital and near the Western Area Power Administration substation, will use between 15 and 20 acres, and will not include any shooting ranges; he added, “The first step was federal funds for the design part of it,” and “Then we retained an architect.”

Volk told reporters the Guard has received congressional planning funds and described a process that will extend for years: “The planning phase of the project will run through the fall of 2027,” he said, and “We hope to have the project ready to compete for space in the 2032 fiscal year project list.” Volk also framed construction timing as contingent on future appropriations: “If funded at that time, actual construction could take about two years.”

Reported federal figures for planning funds differ in public accounts. Volk said Congress recently appropriated $2.5 million for planning and design, while language in the FY26 National Defense Authorization Act references $5.2 million attached to Jamestown planning and design. Sen. Mike Cramer said in a federal release, “The men and women of North Dakota’s National Guard are the finest defenders of our state and frankly, for the nation... The NDAA supports the Jamestown National Guard Armory specifically, which makes sure our guardsmen there are ready, they’re trained, they’re prepared for every mission, whether at home or across the world.” The relationship between the $2.5 million and $5.2 million figures has not been reconciled publicly.

The project’s cost estimates have also shifted since the site was first discussed. Col. Volk cited a preliminary estimate of $52 million for the readiness center, while a 2019 local economic development plan put preliminary costs at $26 million to $28 million. Lt. Col. Kristopher Elijah, facilities plans and programs manager for the North Dakota National Guard, said of the long-running effort, “Years ago we submitted a request for this project... It finally has come to the top of the pile for consideration.” Elijah also confirmed earlier discussions about siting the facility in the JMS Aviation Park adjacent to Jamestown Regional Airport “did not work out.”

The new State Hospital–adjacent plan replaces a 2019 Jamestown/Stutsman Development Corporation proposal in which the JSDC approved a $350,000 one-time payment for a 40-year lease of 16 acres at the Airport Industrial Park. Corry Shevlin, JSDC Business Development Director, cited security and lease-length concerns with the Airport Industrial Park option and said the “project is now up to the state of North Dakota,” adding construction will be “a ways out” as state and federal steps proceed. The Guard currently operates from leased space in the Jamestown Civic Center at a long-standing cost of $14,000 per year.

Officials say planning will continue through fall 2027 with the explicit goal of positioning the project for the FY32 funding cycle; until appropriation line items and any land or lease agreements near the State Hospital are finalized, the readiness center remains a multi-year planning commitment with unresolved questions about total cost and exact funding sources.