Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Police Headquarters topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Doral council advances plan and procurement for new police headquarters, outlines financing scenarios
Summary
After a presentation showing the police department has outgrown its current space, the Doral City Council approved moving forward with procurement and awarding the architectural RFQ for a proposed ~63,000-sq-ft police headquarters; staff outlined a construction timeline and debt scenarios and council voted to proceed.
Doral — The City Council voted April 8 to advance procurement and funding steps for a proposed new police headquarters after staff presented a concept plan and financing scenarios.
City staff described a three-story, roughly 63,000-square-foot facility to be built on the current police training site, with about 200 combined parking spaces and programing aimed at separating patrol, investigations and support functions. The police chief said the department has nearly doubled in size over the past decade and that the current headquarters—originally built for public works—cannot accommodate operational needs. “The department has almost doubled over the past 12 to 13 years,” the police chief said, listing current staffing levels and operational constraints.
Assistant City Manager and CFO Fernando Casamayor told the council the concept-level estimate for construction is in the range of about $54 million, and he presented two financing scenarios: issuing debt for the full amount or combining grants and fund balance with a smaller debt issuance. Casamayor said the city would likely begin construction in 2027 and issue debt after construction begins, with debt-payment scenarios modeled over a 30-year structure. “If it was the entire construction cost of approximately $54,000,000 we will be looking at a 30-year debt structure,” Casamayor said, adding that a partial-financing scenario would reduce annual debt service.
Capital improvements staff outlined a proposed schedule of roughly 9½ months for design, 120 days for permitting and development of a guaranteed maximum price and about 20 months for construction. The plan also calls for repurposing the existing police facility for public-works operations.
Councilmembers pressed staff on capacity, timing and financing. Councilwoman Forrest asked whether the new building would have room for current staff and future growth; staff replied the concept was programmed with current needs and projected growth in mind. Vice Mayor Dina Cabral cautioned about relying on grants and urged conservative planning: she noted that federal grants typically require projects to be ready for construction when funds are requested and emphasized protecting taxpayers by minimizing bonding where feasible.
On separate but related motions, the council approved a procurement resolution authorizing preconstruction and construction-management-at-risk services and unanimously awarded the architectural and engineering RFQ to DLR Group Inc., authorizing the city manager to negotiate an agreement subject to legal sufficiency.
The council’s votes were procedural approvals to advance design, procurement and contracting; no final construction contract was awarded at the April 8 meeting. City staff said they would return with negotiated agreements and additional budget and financing details as the design and procurement steps move forward.
What’s next: staff will negotiate contracts with the design and construction teams, refine the schedule and bring financing recommendations back to the council. Casamayor said the city expects construction to begin in 2027 with debt issuance timed after initial project expenditures.
