GLASGOW, Ky. — Barren County Fiscal Court took another step Tuesday toward making a proposed agricultural exposition center in Cave City a reality by hiring a construction manager to guide the project from design through construction.

Magistrates selected Winchester-based Codell Construction after five firms competed for the job.

“What this means is they’ll just help basically facilitate this project,” Judge/Executive Jamie Byrd said. “Starting from now until the end of construction.”

Byrd said each firm participated in an interview process before county leaders made their selection. While all five firms were well qualified, she said the deciding factor ultimately came down to cost.

“Every one of these people were top quality,” Byrd said.

Codell submitted the lowest construction management fee at $1.026 million.

Alliance Corporation proposed $1.863 million, while Calhoun Construction Services submitted a proposal ranging from $1.8495 million to $2.6595 million, depending on “general conditions.”

SMD Construction proposed $1.08 million, and Trace Creek Construction submitted a fee ranging from $1.084 million to $1.1496 million, depending on the project's final construction cost.

Byrd said the construction management fee is included in the project’s current estimated cost of $27 million.

Earlier this year, Mitch McConnell joined local leaders in Cave City to announce that $20 million in federal funding had been earmarked for the project.

Although construction is not expected to begin this year, Byrd said work on the project will move forward in the coming months. Initial efforts will focus on design work and pursuing New Markets Tax Credits to help finance the remaining cost.

Ideally, Byrd said, the county would secure about $7 million through New Markets Tax Credits, covering the additional balance of the project’s estimated cost.

Without those additional funds, she said the exposition center could likely still be completed with the $20 million already committed, though the final facility would be less elaborate than originally envisioned.

According to construction management documents, construction is expected to begin in late spring 2027 and take about 18 months to complete.

The agricultural exposition center is planned near the Cave Area Conference Center in Cave City. The facility is expected to seat about 3,000 people and host rodeos, livestock shows and other agricultural and community events.