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City outlines plan for new police headquarters near Spanish River Library; timeline, financing overview presented
Summary
City officials presented site reasoning, space needs and a multi‑phase schedule for a new police services headquarters adjacent to the Spanish River Library; staff said construction would likely follow design and permitting in 2026–27 and that a general obligation bond could be placed before voters in March.
Jim Zervas, deputy city manager and chief financial officer for the City of Boca Raton, joined Police Chief Muccio and Public Works and Engineering Director Zach Beer to update the council on planning for a new police services headquarters at the site adjacent to the Spanish River Library.
Zervas told the council the current police headquarters was built in 1987 and that the department’s staffing and equipment footprint have grown substantially; he said the city’s population is roughly 100,000 and the police workforce has increased to about 331 employees. Zach Beer said the existing downtown facility measures about 30,000 square feet and sits on roughly 4.39 acres.
Chief Muccio described operational constraints at the current facility, including the department’s use of multiple locations for detectives, equipment and specialty vehicles, and the need to evacuate the downtown building ahead of severe weather. Muccio said consolidating operations into a secure, modern facility would improve efficiency, co‑locate specialized units and provide visitor‑facing amenities not available in the 1980s‑era building.
Staff described the proposed site adjacent to the Spanish River Library as more centrally located relative to recent population and development patterns and said it offers better access to major transportation corridors. The project team has completed a detailed space needs assessment for near‑term needs and projections to 2035 and 2045, and has engaged ADG Architects to refine layouts, siting and program elements such as evidence processing, firing range, secure parking and community meeting space.
On scheduling, staff said preliminary planning and space refinement will continue through the remainder of 2025, design and permitting work is expected in early 2026, and construction is projected to start late 2026 or early 2027 with a roughly two‑year build time. Zervas described the overall timeline as approximately 48 months from design through completion but said staff will seek opportunities to accelerate where feasible.
Council members asked about budget and financing. Zervas said the likely financing vehicle would be a 30‑year, tax‑exempt general obligation bond (an ad valorem levy) placed before voters at a municipal election; staff identified a target election date of March 26 to coincide with a scheduled municipal election and to avoid the cost of a special election. He emphasized that a reimbursement resolution on the council’s next meeting agenda preserves the city’s ability to recover design‑phase outlays from future bond proceeds but does not obligate the city to issue bonds.
When asked about schedule and fiscal detail, staff said they expect to provide ballpark budgetary options and layout illustrations by late summer or early fall once site planning and sizing are refined. Zervas and Chief Muccio said the current downtown site would remain in city use for training and communications even after the new headquarters opens, and the city expects a downtown substation to remain in place.
No formal decisions were made at the workshop; staff said follow‑up will include continued design work, additional cost estimates and eventual voter consideration of financing.
