{gallery}12_03_09/relocation{/gallery}A trackhoe waits for its next orders at the under-construction site of the Heart Mountain Interpretive Learning Center west of Ralston in freezing temperatures Wednesday morning. Subcontractor Reiter Construction of Powell is performing the dirt work for the final 4,000 square feet of the center's exterior construction. A grand opening for the facility is now slated for September 2011. Tribune photo by Carla WenskyWork marches forward on the planned interpretative learning center near the site of the former Heart Mountain Relocation Camp.A construction team began work Nov. 24 building the last section of the 11,000 square foot facility's exterior. Seven thousand square feet of the building was completed in the first phase, which ended in early summer.The final 4,000 square feet will be built by MBA Construction of Idaho at a cost of $424,200, said Dave Reetz, president of the Heart Mountain, Wyoming Foundation. This phase of the project will take roughly six months, and also will include the installation of water and sewer infrastructure.

The learning center, located off Highway 14-A on Road 19, is being put together by the Heart Mountain foundation. The nonprofit group works to preserve the memory of and lessons from the detainment of the more than 11,000 Japanese Americans held at the site during World War II.

The new phase of the facility is being financed from private donations the foundation has received, and by a $282,253 grant it received from the National Park Service earlier this year. The Park Service grant came from the Japanese American Confinement Sites Grant Program, authorized by Congress in 2006 to preserve those sites.

MBA was the low bidder on the project phase out of five bids submitted. Two local bids from Cody were submitted, but even when giving the Wyoming companies a 5 percent preference, MBA's price was lower, Reetz said.

Reetz added that MBA plans to primarily use local subcontractors for the work.

The completed learning center will feature replicas of the barracks used to house internees, a reconstructed guard tower and sentry station, multi-media exhibits, and a theater.

A grand opening for the learning center was most recently slated for 2010, but Reetz said the opening is now planned for September 2011.

Timelines remain dependent on fundraising.

To date, the foundation has raised$3.3 million towards the estimated $5.5 million needed to complete the center, said Reetz.

However, he added, “The bids have been coming in so good, it's possible it may be less than that ($5.5 million).”

The Park Service plans to divvy up an additional $3 million of Japanese American Confinement Sites grant money next year — three times the amount of money distributed this year. Reetz said the Heart Mountain foundation plans to seek some of that money to help fund the build-out of the facility's interior.

The National Park Service is hosting listening sessions across the United States this week – in Denver, Honolulu, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, Little Rock, and Chicago — to gather thoughts on the first year of the grant program. Reetz said the Heart Mountain foundation planned to have members at each session.

Currently, Reetz said the foundation is in the process of awarding a contract to the apparent low bidder for the interior design, a process that drew bids from Seattle, Oregon, Minnesota, Ohio, California, and Powell. The winning firm will be will be responsible for designing “the whole thing — all the exhibits and all the displays,” said Reetz.

Additionally, foundation board members planned to meet in Baltimore this week to interview filmmakers. The top videographer will create a 12 to 13 minute introductory film that will be shown to learning center visitors.