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Parker County weighs lease or purchase of 1105 Santa Fe Drive to house juvenile services
Summary
County leaders introduced a late-building option to consolidate juvenile probation and the juvenile board at 1105 Santa Fe Drive; commissioners pressed for a line-item breakdown of lease, purchase and retrofit costs before any commitment.
County Judge (speaker 1) told the Commissioners Court on Aug. 22 that a 15,000-square-foot building at 1105 Santa Fe Drive has become available and could house both juvenile probation (JJEP) and the juvenile board, potentially eliminating current rent for the Willow Park facility.
Bianca (speaker 3), the county budget analyst, summarized figures in a packet: the county’s planned occupied space would be roughly 7,200–7,800 square feet. The judge cited a listed sale price of $3,400,000 and said an initial build-out estimate for tenant finish was presented to the court as $450,000. He also said the current Willow Park lease costs about $85,000 a year, and that leasing the new space at $20 per square foot would be $144,000 annually for 7,200 sq ft.
Commissioners asked for more detail before any action. "We don't have enough information to make a good educated decision on this," said Commissioner Holt (speaker 6), calling for an itemized breakdown of the $749,000+ figure presented as the juvenile-related transfer. Holt and other commissioners asked that the listing agent and representatives from the juvenile board appear at the next meeting to answer questions about tenant finish allowances, the scope of retrofit work, furniture and utility expectations.
Judge (speaker 1) said the proposal arrived late and stressed due diligence: "I want us to thoroughly cover this so we can come back and even have somebody from the juvenile board come and talk about this specifically." He also noted the building would remove staff from a site with an asbestos issue. No purchase or lease action was taken; the court scheduled a walk-through and more detailed financial information for the next meeting.
Next steps: county staff will arrange a property walkthrough with the listing agent and prepare a detailed cost breakdown (lease terms, tenant finish allowance, utility estimates and multi-year projections) before the court considers a lease or purchase decision.
