It’s happening.
After decades of dreams, the Santa Barbara City Council voted 5-0 on Tuesday to approve a $96 million contract to build a new police station at the corner of Cota and Santa Barbara streets.
“This has been a long-standing priority of this community,” Police Chief Kelly Gordon said. “For me, as current chief of police, it is my priority to get this project built and over the finish line and to get our folks in this building.”
The contract was awarded to ProWest Constructors, a Wildomar company with an office in Goleta. The company also did work at Cottage Health in Santa Barbara.
Since the contract is more than $5 million, the city’s Community Workforce Agreement applies, so union workers from the city and the Tri-Counties Building & Construction Trades Council will work on the job.
The city also approved $9.6 million for construction contingency costs. Counting all costs, including items such as construction management, the total cost of the project through construction is expected to reach about $121 million.
The city plans to borrow up to $135 million from US Bank to pay for the new 65,000-square-foot headquarters. The debt also will cover renovation of Dwight Murphy Field, including new soccer fields and the inclusive Gwendolyn’s Playground.
The city will use Measure C sales tax money to pay back the loan.
Gordon explained the need for a new building. The current building at 215 E. Figueroa St. was built in 1959. It needs a seismic upgrade and updates to meet accessibility standards. It has soil contamination in the parking lot as well as multiple plumbing and electrical infrastructure deficiencies.
“It was designed for a much smaller community and a much smaller Police Department,” Gordon said.
The city leases other buildings around town to provide police services.
“It’s too small, it’s inefficient and it certainly does not meet our needs,” Gordon said.
The new building will be three stories and house the dispatch center. It also will include a community room, a training room, a property evidence room, a forensic laboratory, an indoor shooting range, a fitness area, locker rooms, detective areas and office space.
“It’s a very exciting moment for us to be able to break ground and see this move forward,” Gordon said.
Construction is set to begin in January and last about two years. Officers are expected to move in during 2027. It is unclear what will happen to the current site, although some members of the City Council have stated that it could be a good site to build housing.
“More than anything, this is going to provide the community with better access to police services,” Gordon said. “It will also lead to better recruitment and retention for the Police Department.”
Santa Barbara City Councilman Eric Friedman said it’s been “a long time coming for this community.”
“This is a big day for our community,” he said. “We’re moving the police station, and it is going to serve us well for decades and decades and decades for public safety and recruitment and retention.”
City Councilwoman Kristen Sneddon said “the dream team” brought everything together.
“We can’t get this built fast enough so we can have safety for the community,” Sneddon said.
She also said she is excited about the possibilities for the current police station once it becomes available.
“Where the current police station is now will be an opportunity,” Sneddon said. “That’s going to be an asset that the city owns, and we will be able to have full discussions of that. “
