Dallas council reviews police station options, eyes value engineering and new financing route

City of Dallas officials and outside architects spent Monday’s council work session reviewing updated cost estimates, alternative building options and financing plans for a proposed new police station that was rejected by voters in May.

Architects from Mackenzie presented a detailed cost breakdown for the two‑story design the city previously put before voters and a third‑party hard‑cost estimate. Jeff Humphreys, principal at Mackenzie, said the project was estimated as an essential facility with prevailing‑wage requirements and a CMGC (construction manager/general contractor) delivery, which carry premiums. “This is the best way to go,” Humphreys said of alternative delivery approaches given long lead times for equipment since the pandemic.

The presentation put the project’s planning total at about $17,200,000. A third‑party estimator, TAW Construction, produced a hard construction estimate of roughly $12,600,000 — inside the architect’s previously provided range. Mackenzie staff explained the spread between low and high estimates largely reflected contingencies for items not yet designed and escalation for inflation, and noted some cost…