Middlesex County still expects to break ground within a month on a new 180-bed nursing home in Old Bridge, but officials said details remain unsettled on how the project will be developed and financed.

Freeholder Director David Crabiel said the board will meet in a special closed-door session Tuesday night to finalize the plan.

Over the summer, the county sought help from the New Brunswick Development Corp. (Devco), a powerful engine for economic growth throughout the city. County officials are well acquainted with Devco since they partnered on multimillion-dollar projects that helped reshape downtown New Brunswick in the last two decades.

"We want to continue to be good partners and help them in any way we can," said Christopher Paladino, executive director of Devco.

His agency built and continues to own and operate the county administration building in New Brunswick, the nearby county courthouse, as well as the city police headquarters, which also houses the county prosecutor's office.

Paladino said Devco has been working on the budget for the new nursing home and outlining different options for the county. Paladino said one of the benefits of working with Devco is there are no cost overruns because a maximum price is guaranteed. But like Crabiel, Paladino said no decisions were made.

When the county administration building was constructed, Devco financed it using "certificates of participation," which are similar to general obligation bonds that are often sold by government agencies to finance projects. The lease payments the county makes to Devco are used to pay off the certificates. In 30 years the debt will be canceled and the county will own the buildings.

Seven years ago Middlesex County sold taxpayer-guaranteed, general obligation bonds to build a 180-bed nursing home across the road from Roosevelt Care Center, the county's original nursing home. The grand building with its 40-foot cupola is a historic landmark.

When it opened more than 70 years ago it was a tuberculosis hospital and later the county turned it into a nursing home. The county relies on reimbursements from Medicare and Medicaid, the federal health insurance program, to run the facility.

The latest addition to Roosevelt, which is known as the hilltop campus, opened in 2005 and together with the original building, more than 400 elderly and disabled residents live there. The hilltop campus cost $20 million to construct, while the Old Bridge project's price tag is estimated at $39 million.

Once the new nursing home is opened, Middlesex County plans to shutter the original Roosevelt and convert it into housing for people with disabilities.

The Middlesex County Improvement Authority operates the two existing nursing facilities. Crabiel said, however, no determination was made on whether the improvement authority will operate the Old Bridge home.

Yet, Paladino said if Devco partners with the county "our involvement would end when it's completed."

The county bought 14.8 acres from Old Bridge for $1.9 million as the site of the new home. It is located off Marlboro Road and officials described it as a densely wooded tract. The same firm that designed the hilltop campus, NK of Morristown, was hired to work on the new project.