Cost of new Lacey police station could grow to $52 million
The cost of the new Lacey police station, which the city aims to build on a forested property north of City Hall, has blown past previous estimates and could now cost as much as $52 million.
The latest estimate was shared with Lacey City Council on Thursday by Bill Valdez, a partner at KMB Architects of Olympia.
Pre-design of the police station was competed in January 2021, which showed a preliminary construction cost of $29 million, but over the past two years, costs have soared, a combination of inflation and pandemic-driven supply chain problems, Valdez said.
On top of that, the Western Washington construction market already was more expensive than the national average.
The new construction estimate is $38 million with an additional $13 million in “soft costs,” meaning the total cost of the project falls in the range of $49 million to $52 million, he said. The previous total estimate was about $40 million, the city has said previously.
Soft costs include the cost to manage the project, inspect it, move into the new building and buy the fixtures, furniture and equipment for it, Valdez said.
The project is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2024 and last about two years. He warned the council that delays to the schedule could add $260,000 to $300,000 in additional costs per month.
In light of those additional costs, council member Lenny Greenstein asked whether the project could start sooner. Valdez said his team would investigate condensing the schedule.
Despite the higher estimate, Greenstein said the city has to move forward on the project.
“The fact of the matter is it’s a project we have to do,” Greenstein said, reflecting on a recent public tour of the current police station, which is attached to City Hall.
“I don’t think we gave a tour to a single person who wouldn’t agree that this is a project that has to happen,” he said.
The current station was built in 1985 when the department had a staff of about 30. Now the police station has about 80 staff that works out of space that has grown to 18,000 square feet from 15,000 square feet in 1985.
But how will the city pay for a new police station? The original plan was to go to voters and seek a property tax increase for a bond issue.
Of late, however, City Manager Scott Spence has recommended not going to voters, but instead having the council approve the bonds and repay them with a combination of existing revenue and reserves.
But with the increase in estimated costs, Spence suggested having another discussion about financing. He recommends the city borrow $15 million to $17 million.
“It doesn’t change our course, but we need to look a little deeper into reserves,” he said.
This story was originally published November 12, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
