In the mid to late 2000s, the City invested in two new patrol precincts and a new evidence facility to replace the previous police facilities which had been built in the 1960s. The new precincts planned to accommodate some future growth, but did not include space for police headquarters or administration.
The current VPD Headquarters, located at 605 East Evergreen Blvd. was assumed from Washington State Patrol (WSP) in 2002. WSP used the building as a vehicle emissions testing facility. It is approximately 17,000 square feet, and hosts the Office of the Chief and associated administration.
In 2016, the City assumed responsibility for police records from the Clark County Sherriff’s office, which had provided records services under contract for multiple decades. The City established a 24/7 records unit in West Precinct, providing improved service to VPD officers while reducing annual operating costs.
The addition of 26 new records positions in West Precinct consumed a substantial portion of the space that would have otherwise accommodated future growth in patrol functions.
VPD has no dedicated space for training of its officers and staff. Over the years, the department has relied on donated space from a range of individual businesses, as well as the occasional use of other public facilities to accommodate training needs of the department. While this has been a very cost effective way of accessing facilities for training purposes, the reliability has been declining in recent years. As the local economy has grown, the availability of vacant business space has diminished. Further, as the community has grown, the ability to reliably access space in other public facilities has also declined. Concurrently, the training needs of the department, and expectations of the community for a well-trained police force have grown, and are expected to continue to grow in the future.
In light of these circumstances, the need for additional space was identified by the Chief in the context of the multi-year staffing plan approved by Council in 2017, as well as the analysis and context of a Stronger Vancouver. It was not included as a recommended element of a Stronger Vancouver because, at that time, the needs of the department were not sufficiently defined.
City leadership maintains a consistent awareness of the real estate environment across the community, to both understand the dynamics of this aspect for our economy as well as to identify opportunities when they arise to satisfy the city’s long term strategic real estate needs.
Earlier this year, the City identified the property located at 521 Chkalov as a potential strategic real estate acquisition to meet the current and long term future needs of VPD. The property consists of a 2 story, 44,500 square foot building located on 2.3 acres. The building’s parking lot accommodates 285 vehicles. The adjacent vacant 1.4 acres is under the same ownership.
The size, configuration, building type and location all align with the current and forecasted needs of VPD. The building will readily accommodate VPD headquarters functions, appropriate specialty units and functions currently located in precincts, dedicated training space and room for growth. The adjacent property, if secured, could provide additional space to accommodate future growth of the department well into the future.
To secure the advantages of this real estate to the benefit of VPD, the City has negotiated a lease purchase agreement with the property owner. The agreement provides for the City to take possession of the building upon approval by City Council for a lease term of five years and three months, and gives the City the option to purchase the property at the beginning of the third year of the lease. The beginning lease rate is $14.50 per foot per year, with a 3% annual rate escalation. In addition, the agreement provides the City the first right of refusal to acquire the adjacent 1.4 acres at the appraised value, which could provide additional room for growth well into the future.
The City has identified current funding capacity to fund the lease purchase through a combination of police budget savings (from vacancies due to primarily retirement-based attrition), recently audited jail costs that were below budget (2015-17), estimated misdemeanor jail cost savings for 2018 and 2019 and undesignated general fund balance.