Submitted Art An architect’s rendering shows the Drug Treatment Center being built by the Three Affiliated Tribes on the north side of Bismarck. Construction began in December. The center is scheduled for completion in mid-2018.

BISMARCK – A $24.8 million drug treatment center project is being built in Bismarck by the Three Affiliated Tribes.

The Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation Drug Treatment Center is being built in a new subdivision on the north side of Bismarck at 57th Avenue N. and U.S. Highway 83, about a mile north of the Walmart store. Capital City Construction in Bismarck is the contractor for the project.

Construction on the project started in December 2016. The project is being fully financed by the tribes.

The Drug Treatment Center and an assisted living facility to be built in Parshall are projects that Mark Fox, tribal chairman, has committed to completing during his time as chairman.

Randy Lindemann, originally from Minot and with Nelson-Tremain Partnership, Architecture and Design, in Minneapolis, said the current work is phase one of the multi-phase project.

Five buildings are in the first phase and will be located on the 11-acre site.

The 20,114-square-foot treatment center will include group therapy, administration and a cafeteria. The treatment center is designed for future expansion.

Two resident cottages – each 6,562 square feet. One of the eight-bed cottages is for males and the other eight-bed cottage for females.

“It’s designed for eight beds to start but can be for up to 16 residents each depending on possible federal law changes,” Lindemann said. More resident cottages can be added in the future.

There will also be a metal storage building and an amphitheater – a covered outdoor structure with seating for 45 students. A sweat lodge is part of the amenities.

Parking will be available for 77 vehicles, including residents, staff and visitors.

Including land acquisition, site improvements, building construction, furniture, equipment, etc., the project costs an estimated $24.8 million.

The second phase of the project will be transitional housing – onsite living for people in recovery, Lindemann said. “A big part of treatment is not to go back into the situation they came from.”

The Three Affiliated Tribes own 11 more acres for future development including transitional housing.

The project’s design team including Fox, Lindemann and other tribal representatives, toured a number of facilities in Arizona in making plans for the drug treatment center project. Their visits included Native American Connections, the largest provider of substance treatment services with 650 beds in several locations.

Ackerman-Estvold in Minot is doing the construction observation for the Drug Treatment Center project as well as the assisted-living facility to be built in Parshall.

The Three Affiliated Tribes Drug Treatment Center project will be completed in May 2018.