A $3.9 million pre-engineered metal “Agricultural Shop” is being proposed on Main Street in Woodland to support Yolo County’s Ag Department.

This coming Tuesday, the Yolo County Board of Supervisors will hear the proposal from Ryan Pistochini, director of the General Services Department, to authorize the project.

When completed in January 2026, the 6,000-square-foot structure will be located at the northwest corner of the facility at 120 West Main Street and facing Court Street. It will include laboratories, testing rooms, a maintenance shop, break room, restrooms and garage. The site will also have two dual-fleet EV chargers for county vehicles.

Yolo County’s Agricultural Department is now located in Suite D, 120 W. Main. Construction of the building will give the department greater flexibility.

The Ag Department abandoned Norton Hall at 70 Cottonwood St. in November 2024. It is now vacant and is being repurposed to be the future home of the Adult Health Center. Norton Hall had been the site of the Ag Department for over four decades.

If approved, the contract would be awarded to Creekside Commercial Builders, a longtime building company located at McClellan Park near Sacramento.

Yolo County’s Facilities Budget contains money to cover the work, according to a report prepared by Pistochini.

Pistochini wrote that the Ag Department has an “ongoing need for a new, fully equipped shop that supports its operational requirements.

“Relocating the Ag Department’s shop to a commercial zone will fulfill this need while also reducing the department’s footprint in a residential-zoned area,” he stated. “This move is anticipated to eliminate the department’s impact on the residential neighborhood, enhancing compatibility with surrounding land uses and improving overall operational efficiency.”

Pistochini also noted the new structure “also aligns with the county’s long-term goals by providing a centralized, state-of-the-art facility for the Agriculture Department. The new building will enhance operational efficiency and support vital functions related to agricultural testing and administration, maintenance, and weights and measures,” which also fall under the Ag Department’s purview.

A public solicitation for bids went out in September 2024 with Creekside submitting the lowest bid of $3,898,734 million. An engineer’s estimate of the project made in January 2023 was that it would cost $3,032 million.