LAUREL — State officials have identified a 114-acre plot along Old Highway 10 in west Laurel as the location of a proposed new $27.2 million state forensic mental health facility.
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At a Tuesday Laurel City Council meeting, Board of Investment Director Dan Villa told city officials the state is in a buy-sell agreement for the land and will request annexation by the city and zoning assignment. The property currently lies just outside city limits.
The vacant piece of land is on Old Highway 10 between Foundation Avenue and Golf Course Road. It's across the road from the Wood's Softball Complex, near the main road to the Laurel Golf Course and visible from West Elementary School.
The initial draft plans show a 32-bed facility will be built. It will serve those currently in the justice system who are waiting for a mental health evaluation to see if they are fit to stand trial.
"People should not mince words. People who go there, their freedoms, their liberties have been taken away. They're not free to leave," Yellowstone County Commissioner Mark Morse said. "And that means you're in a correctional facility."
According to Montana Cadastral, the state's property database, the land in question is owned by Miller Trois LLC.
The state has been seeking a site for a new forensic hospital since the 2025 Legislature voted to approve the funding for a new facility, citing rising demand that was straining the resources at the state's current facility in Warm Springs.
Laurel was the first option. Officials in Hardin and Miles City both submitted proposals offering land for the hospital but were rejected by the state. Officials in Laurel were then surprised when the state chose their town.
