A ribbon cutting for the new Child Welfare Services building in Clovis is Thursday at 11 a.m., 380 W. Ashlan Ave., Clovis.

Fresno County will cut the ribbon Thursday on the nation’s first conversion of a Costco warehouse into Class-A office space.

The new Child Welfare Services building at 380 W. Ashlan Ave.in Clovis  will be the site of the celebration Thursday at 11 a.m.

The 138,355-square-foot former Costco is the new home to about 586 Department of Social Services employees, according to a county news release. The facility is considered state-of-the-art and includes family-friendly visitation rooms, child and youth-friendly areas and the Hope Plaza center for community events and meetings.

The general contractor on the project was Fresno-based Cook Land Co., which delivered on time in 13 months and under budget for $37 million in prevailing wages, according to the release. The space was fully occupied as of last month. It also includes 2,156 solar panels, with a capacity to produce 895 kilowatts of electricity.

The former Costco store closed in 2019 after 29 years in operation, replaced by a new store near Clovis and Shaw avenues.

The county’s rent on the building starts at $186,691 per month for the first year — more than $2.24 million for the entire year. That rate would increase annually to $352,858 a month — more than $4.23 million for the full 12 months in the final year of the 19-year lease.

Over that time, the combined lease payments wouldn’t exceed $166.07 million, according to the lease approved in February 2020.

While not part of the former Pelco campus, the former Costco building adjoins the site. In all, the county is moving its entire Social Services staff, nearly 2,200 people, from 30 locales throughout the county onto the campus.

Each year, Child Welfare Services staff answer 18,000 calls to the Child Abuse Hotline, investigate 9,000 allegations of abuse or neglect, approve 275 homes to care for youth and manage 2,700 court cases, according to the release.