Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library using $70M Bank of North Dakota line of credit

MEDORA, N.D. (North Dakota Monitor/KVRR) — The Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation has tapped into $53 million of a $70 million Bank of North Dakota line of credit to pay for construction costs while private fundraising continues.

Ed O’Keefe, CEO of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation, said the foundation anticipates accessing the full $70 million by the end of the year.

North Dakota lawmakers in 2023 first established the line of credit through the state-owned bank to allow construction on the $450 million library in Medora to continue if donations have been pledged but not yet received by the library foundation. The loan did not get used in the 2023-25 budget cycle.

Lawmakers voted earlier this year to continue that line of credit. Unlike a traditional loan, a line of credit allows the borrower to access the funds only as needed, saving money on interest, said Kelvin Hullet, chief business development officer for the Bank of North Dakota.

The library foundation began accessing the funds for the first time in July, with the balance now at $53 million, Hullet said Friday.

Those dollars are needed because construction costs are coming in while some donations have yet to be collected, O’Keefe said.

Some donations to the library are multi-year commitments, he said. For example, a $1 million donation could be paid in $250,000 installments over four years.

“In many cases, we have commitments on the fundraising, but the construction costs, in addition to the exhibits and ramping up operations, are hitting now,” O’Keefe said.

Under the legislation, the line of credit is required to be repaid, plus interest. There is not a payment due until June 30, 2027, Hullet said.

“Hopefully they can pay the entire line of credit back,” Hullet said. “If they can’t, then we’ll look at some sort of a structure over the course of a couple of years, as their donations come in, then to repay that back.”

The Legislature also approved up to $5 million in state funding in the North Dakota Industrial Commission budget to pay for some of the interest.

Interest is accruing at a market rate, Hullet said, but the library foundation will pay 2% interest, with the state funding covering the difference.

Hullet said he doesn’t expect the full $5 million to be used. That payment will be calculated at the end of June 2027.

The library foundation has raised $344 million toward a $450 million fundraising goal, O’Keefe said. That total includes $50 million in state funds the North Dakota Legislature approved in 2019 for the library’s operational endowment. Those endowment funds are to be used to operate the facility, not cover construction costs. Project construction is estimated at $400 million.

The library foundation had donor events over the weekend in Medora and has upcoming events in Dallas, Texas and Washington, D.C., said Matt Briney, chief communications and marketing officer for the library.

The presidential library is under construction in western North Dakota, where Roosevelt spent time after the deaths of his wife and mother. He famously said he would not have been president without his experience in North Dakota.

O’Keefe estimated construction was about 70% complete as of Friday and expected to wrap up by May 2026, including the exhibits. Briney said the federal government shutdown will not affect continued construction at the library site since no federal funding was provided for the project.

“You can absolutely count on it, July 4, 2026, the doors will open to this library,” Briney said.

Lawmakers earlier this year rejected a proposal to add another $50 million in state funding to the library’s operational endowment, though proponents signaled the proposal could be back next session. Some lawmakers who opposed the additional funding raised concerns about taxpayers being asked to fill funding gaps with the library.

The presidential library has also received a $4 million Department of Commerce Destination Development Grant and $500,000 from the state Outdoor Heritage Fund. There’s also an effort to secure federal funding for up to $50 million for the library.