Consultant recommends new La Marque police station; two sites considered, costs revised upward

La Marque’s council and Public Safety Building Committee on July 7 heard an updated assessment of the city’s police facility that concluded the current building “isn’t working” and presented two primary site options and revised cost estimates.

Consultant Mr. Long told the council the 2022 condition and program analysis showed the existing downtown police station fails to meet current operational needs for detention, evidence storage, dispatch and officer workflow. “The answer was no, it doesn't,” he said, summarizing whether the building satisfies the police department’s mission.

The consultant presented two sites for a new or renovated public-safety facility. The existing Public Works site (referred to as Building A) is owned by the city and could fit the program but has site constraints, limited room for secure parking and sits slightly below the base flood elevation (BFE), which would require mitigation. The Vaucher site sits above BFE and offers room for secure parking, a dedicated public entrance and space for future expansion, but the city does not own that parcel and it is in a residential neighborhood, which raises community impacts to manage.

Mr. Long described programmatic needs the consultant identified: a compliant detention area, a functional evidence room, sally-port vehicle access, secure parking for officers and appropriately sized patrol, investigations and administrative areas. He said those needs informed the recommended footprint and site criteria and noted municipalities commonly plan police stations as 30- to 50-year facilities.

On costs, Mr. Long recapped earlier 2022 estimates and offered updated order-of-magnitude figures. He said a 2022 full-build estimate included hard costs, soft costs and FF&E (furniture, fixtures and equipment) and that specialized systems for police facilities — detention equipment, security and dispatch systems — drive cost. He cited a past example the team reviewed that was bidding at about $600 per square foot and said current volatility in subcontractor pricing and inflation are pushing estimates higher. For renovation of the existing Building A, Mr. Long gave an order-of-magnitude estimate of about $19,000,000, and he said high-end new construction costs for comparable public-safety facilities are in the range of about $650 per square foot.

The consultant also discussed flood risk and resilience. The Public Works site is described as a ‘‘hair shy’’ below BFE and would likely need mitigation or elevation measures; the Vaucher site sits above the BFE and would require less fill, lowering civil costs. Mr. Long said elevating critical public-safety buildings is a recommended resilience approach and can also provide hardened vehicle setbacks.

Council members and staff raised practical questions about circulation, parking, front-door separation for public visitors and secure staff access. Mr. Long said the Vaucher site allows separate public and secure access flows, and that Building A could be adapted but would be constrained and would likely require significant structural work to meet current safety standards for a critical facility.

No formal decision was recorded; the presentation provided updated program and cost guidance to inform future options, including potential bond planning. Mr. Long and staff recommended further design work, site negotiations if the Vaucher parcel is pursued, structural surveys if the city renovates Building A and a closer cost estimate tied to a defined scope before any bond or procurement steps.