Rockwall study outlines $140M in potential city facility projects, urges staged approach

Park Hill, an architectural and planning consultant, presented a city facilities planning study to the Rockwall City Council on April 21 that lays out options to meet projected staffing and service needs over the next 10–20 years, including five major projects with conceptual designs and order‑of‑magnitude costs.

The study, led by Michael Howard of Park Hill, recommends renovating and adding to City Hall, replacing Fire Station 1, relocating and modernizing the Service Center campus, building a consolidated two‑story public safety facility to house police, fire administration and an emergency operations center (EOC), and constructing a four‑level, roughly 400‑space downtown parking structure. Howard said the package of five projects would total in the neighborhood of $140 million under the study’s assumptions.

Howard said Park Hill’s work began with department‑by‑department staffing projections and a room‑by‑room “space program” that converts expected staff growth into square‑foot requirements. The firm measured gross square footage today and projected a need to expand from roughly 78,000 square feet used by the studied departments to about 133,000 square feet to meet 20‑year projections.

The consultant presented conceptual designs and cost ranges for each project and explained which items would require land acquisition or significant site work. Park Hill’s high‑level cost estimates in the presentation were: - City Hall renovation plus an addition: about $15,000,000 (rough‑order magnitude; roughly $900,000 additional if the council chambers is reconfigured). - Fire Station 1 replacement (new ~13,520 sq ft station; land excluded): about $11,300,000. - Service Center campus replacement (administration building, shop bays, covered fleet parking, site work): about $22,200,000 (includes substantial site development because of paving and fleet needs). - New consolidated public safety building (approx. 72,000 sq ft across main building and annexes, EOC, dispatch, evidence and special operations storage): about $72,700,000 (includes higher soft‑cost allowance for communications and radio relocation). - Downtown parking garage (400 spaces; four levels, some land acquisition assumed): roughly $22,000,000.

"You're looking at about a hundred and 40,000,000 of total projects across these 5, proposed projects," Howard told the council during the presentation.

Council members and staff asked questions about site options, how projects would be phased, and the degree to which projects depend on future land acquisitions. Howard said the public safety facility and the relocated service center would likely require new land acquisitions; the City Hall option assumes renovating and adding on the existing site. He also noted that some proposed sites shown in the presentation were not city‑owned and would require negotiation or purchase.

City staff emphasized this work is not a bond proposal; it is an initial planning step to give council cost estimates and options. Councilmembers and the mayor discussed next steps, including committee review and further vetting of priority, phasing and funding mechanisms.

The consultant also recommended additional detailed design, geotechnical and communications work before the city would commit to any specific projects or budgets.

The council did not take a final action on funding or projects at the meeting; members directed staff to continue work with Park Hill and to return with follow‑up materials for committee review.