The Jay C. Hormel Nature Center is inching toward a big year in the construction of its new, $7 million interpretive center.

Director/Naturalist Larry Dolphin updated the Austin City Council during a work session Monday on the project’s progress, and work is under way to prepare the site for the new interpretive center.

“Right now the new interpretive site is being excavated,” he said.

Work on the roughly $6 million building goes out for bids on Jan. 11, 2016, with the council expected to approve a construction contractor and accept the bid by March 7, 2016. An official groundbreaking is planned for March 31, 2016, and the dedication for the completed interpretive center is planned for April 22, 2017, which is Earth Day.

Dolphin was hopeful that bids would come in as expected, since he’s heard that several construction contractors plan to bid on the work.

The other roughly $1 million for the project will go toward educational exhibits. Work on the exhibits is well under way, and Dolphin told the council that the Friends of the Jay C. Hormel Nature Center has already raised close to $1 million, but Dolphin added they’re still looking for additional funds in the coming years as he urged people to support the project if they haven’t yet.

Phase two of the project will focus on nailing down design details for the estimated 15 educational displays, which could include displays on birds of prey, creatures of the night, prairie/soil and plants, endangered species, and an early childhood room with several hands-on activities. Nature center officials are continuing to plan for the educational exhibits, and the plan for the exhibits could be finalized by spring.

The third and possibly final design for the exhibits will be presented by Split Rock Studios on Feb. 23, 2016.

“This is quite a process,” Dolphin said.

Work on the $719,000 first phase of the project is winding down. The gas, water and sewer lines for the new building are done, as is the new entrance and new parking lot and curbs. With mild weather, lines will be painted on the parking lot soon.

Dolphin expects they’ll move into the new maintenance shop by Christmas.

Last week, a bid request went out for the 40 to 80 kilowatts of solar energy at the site. Bids close on Dec. 28 and are expected to come before the council on Jan. 19, 2016. Four rain gardens are also going in around the site to collect runoff from the lot and nearby ditch. They’ll also have geothermal heating and cooling.

Last year, the nature center announced the plan to build the 15,000-square-foot interpretive center, which will be three times the size of the current building.

The nature center received a $5 million grant from the Hormel Foundation for the $7 million project — $6 million for the building and about $1 million for educational exhibits. The city of Austin is providing $500,000 to the project.