The Thurston County Sheriff’s Office celebrated the opening of its new home last week, roughly a year and a half after buying the new building.
In a news release, county officials touted the new building as a major upgrade able to accommodate the growth of the sheriff’s office over the next 20 years.
Thurston County officially announced the completion of renovations on the new Thurston County Sheriff’s Office headquarters Friday afternoon — the same day they held an official ribbon cutting for the facility.
The new building, at over 50,000 square feet, sits near Tumwater High School on Israel Road Southwest.
According to the Thurston County news release, the county acquired the old state building and renovated it for less than the budgeted $20 million, referring to the strategy as “adaptive reuse.” Leftover funds allowed for the purchase of a nearby lot to be used as a vehicle impound.
“The county is seeing big wins in big capital infrastructure development thanks to the dedicated public servants who fill the ranks of county staff,” Thurston County Board of Commissioners Chair Tye Menser said. “Staff know the business of the county and the people in our community.”
The county emphasized that the new facility has come with a range of upgrades and solved a number of problems for the law enforcement agency. For the first time in a long time, most of the office’s departments will operate in the same building.
Patrol, investigations, finance and evidence departments will now operate in the same building. It also comes with material upgrades, including space for on-site evidence storage, improved spaces and furniture for victim care and improved security.
According to the news release, new security measures include perimeter cameras, fenced in parking for the patrol fleet and staff and an incidence-response communications room.
According to the county, it has been seeking a new site for the sheriff’s office headquarters since 2011 when the aging county courthouse building forced the agency to begin leasing warehouse buildings in the Mottman Road area.
County officials pointed out that the new building, which is bigger and comes with many upgrades, costs about the same as had been quoted to upgrade the county building many years ago.
In the announcement, Thurston County Capital Project Manager Tony Schall emphasized the efficiency of the project, which is the fourth major capital project in the county in recent years to be completed on time and under budget. Other projects include both the new voter services building and the ballot processing center.
“Bids were competitive. Decisions were made within a few days. The team stayed flexible and collaborative,” Schall said. “That’s how we brought this in on time and under budget — wish lists never became demands — the attitude was always one of public service, and the focus was always on the community.”
Also commenting on the efficiency of the project, Thurston County Manager Leonard Hernandez complimented the many county departments that cooperated on the project amid financial challenges for the county.
“Our Public Health and Social Services team, Auditor and Sheriff’s Office brought their needs to the project team early, trusted the professional process and strongly aligned with Central Services on the side of careful spending,” Hernandez said.
See the full news release from the county here: https://www.thurstoncountywa.gov/news/thurston-county-unveils-new-sheriffs-office-hq
