Boca Raton staff propose Spanish River site and up to $175 million bond referendum for new police headquarters

City staff on Sept. 22 presented detailed plans and cost estimates for a replacement police headquarters and urged the City Council to allow Boca Raton voters to decide whether to approve bond financing for the project in March 2026.

Jim Zervis, the citydeputy manager and chief financial officer, and project architects described a proposed new headquarters on city‑owned land near Spanish River Boulevard. The plan would replace the current downtown headquarters (built in 1986) with a larger, hurricane‑rated facility on a more central site; staff said the current building is undersized and uses multiple off‑site locations for operations and evidence storage.

"The item that will come before you later today is simply the decision to place the item on the March 2026 ballot for the public to be able to vote on the financing of a new police headquarters project," Zervis told the council, emphasizing that no project approval or contract would be made by council at the workshop.

Key details from the staff presentation - Site and layout: staff identified a city‑owned site on Spanish River Boulevard adjacent to the Spanish River Library. The proposed campus includes a 2.5‑story…