The Jay C. Hormel Nature center is making progress on its new interpretive center project.

Director/Naturalist Larry Dolphin told the Austin Park and Rec Board Wednesday that the center has secured $6.8 million of the estimated $7 million to build a new interpretive center to take the place of its current visitor center.

“Things are going really well,” said Dolphin, who noted he’d like to raise in a bit more than $7 million to have a cushion on how project bids come in.

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.

The nature center is set to get bids on the interpretive center construction in January, and it’s hoping the Austin City Council will approve the bid in February. Though the groundbreaking on the interpretive center is planned for next year and work can begin in 2017, the $719,000 first phase of the project is already well under way.

The new maintenance shed is already under construction and should be completed by early December, and some work has been completed on new asphalt and to move the main entrance to where the old maintenance shed is.

Work is also beginning to remove soil and bring in new soil for the base of the new interpretive, which will be built northeast of the maintenance building just north of the parking lot. That work also touched on sewer, water and gas lines for the new center. Some work will also be done on new rain gardens at the interpretive center.

The nature center is continuing to fine tune plans for the interpretive center, as they’ve been picking paint and rock colors for the new building.

“We’re looking at a lot of the details now,” Dolphin said.

Phase two 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.

Dolphin and other officials are also continuing to iron out details for the renewable energy sources for the building, and he said they could decide soon the exact amount of solar energy they’ll utilize. They’ve discussed about 50 or 100 kilowatts of solar-power at the site, along with water collection to use for flushing toilets and the potential for electric car chargers.

Giving thanks

The Jay C. Hormel Nature Center’s annual Thanksgiving Feast starts at 5:30 p.m. on Nov. 14. Tickets are still available. For more information, contact the Jay C. Hormel Nature at 507-437-7519.