The Sarnia Police Service is taking another step towards a new headquarters.
The police board heard from Ventin Group Architects Ltd. on Thursday, August 28 that construction of a new 98,650 square foot facility would cost an estimated $91.1 million.
Board members voted to forward the estimate to city staff and council to include in the 2026 budget process for consideration.
Police Chief Derek Davis explained what the next steps will be.
"If it's approved it's a three year project, so it's not all at once. It will take a couple of years to complete over that time, it's phased in as is the costs," he said.
The preliminary costs include only those directly related to construction.
According to a report, the cost does not include the recovered value of the current police facility and land.
Davis said ultimately where the funding comes from is up to the municipality.
"It's critical infrastructure. Community safety is truly critical infrastructure and we do need to find a solution," Davis said. "We are still here in this building, it's been a long time getting to this point and the question becomes what is the solution and the board has identified a solution."
He added that he understands it is difficult to process because of the large number.
The number sent to city staff is not the final cost.
Davis said it could go up or down.
Some of the impacts could be final design developments and any delays for future construction costs, such as tariffs and inflation.
"This is a very early beginning initial assessment of what the costs would be but before any large project we need to identify a budget threshold of what we're working towards," he said.
Not included in the cost estimate are the soft costs, applicable taxes, permit fees, specialty consultant fees, solar and geothermal.
The architectural firm was selected in April to start the preliminary design of the facility, which did not include drawings.
Meanwhile, in July city council approved setting aside a parcel of land on the north side of the Sarnia Business and Research Park.
At the time, council was told the proposed build would cost and estimated $81 million.
Davis said not having to purchase land does reduce overall costs but the construction cost would stay the same.
"This is why we looked for city owned land, this was the land that was selected was recommended by city staff and less than what had originally been anticipated but seems to be a good compromise position for all sides," he said.
If the construction budget is approved at the city level, items could start going out to tender by 2027.