Lincoln City Police Facility

With a regular population of approximately 8,400 people and a summertime population of more than 30,000 people, the department had outgrown its 1980s facility. The building had outgrown its usable life and needed to be replaced. The existing facility, an old ambulance building on a heavily wooded and sloped site, was too small, needed to be modernized, and was not seismically sound. The City desired the new police facility to be on the same site and to meet community and police growth through 2047.

Local First

Before this project, Klosh Group had not completed a project in Lincoln City; however, the project team was able to navigate the land use, permitting, and inspection process without event. The City’s primary goals included facilitating a stronger connection between the police force and the community, that the materiality reflected and protected against the coastal environment, and to create a facility for the staff to be proud of. Throughout the project, ‘local first’ was a driving force.

Design

FFA provided an aesthetically pleasing design on a challenging site. The two-story structure designed by FFA Architecture and Interiors (awarded the project in 2017) includes patrol and detective offices, evidence storage, conference spaces, detention cells and processing, vehicle sally port and processing, weapons maintenance and storage, locker rooms, an exercise facility, administrative areas, and a large central lobby. The steep topography backs up to a future city park, limiting access points challenging the design team to provide separate public and secure zones. 

Construction estimates during design were at a 40% premium to perform commercial construction at the Coast; increased cost due to worker transportation. Therefore, materials and systems were chosen that could be pre-fabricated, thus saving on construction costs. Cost savings were also found in the materials selected for exterior cladding. While masonry is typically used for security reasons (ballistic protection), FFA proved that a combination of concrete tile and solid CLT walls met the same performance levels. Designers mocked up a section of the wall, and police staff used the section as target practice. Additionally, the concrete shingles imitate the cedar shingles commonly seen at the coast while being more resilient to the climate.

Value Engineering Measures

In meeting the City’s goals for the police department and the community, the budget was overrun by $1 million at the time of GMP. Klosh facilitated an efficient and thorough four-week value engineering exercise to bring the project back into the budget. Klosh hosted bi-weekly conference calls with the entire design and construction team to achieve our goal, and each team member provided ideas and feedback and contributed to the VE decisions.

Project Completion

The team saw the project completed on budget and schedule, despite coastal construction premiums, continued on-site operations throughout construction, and lofty goals. The facility reflects the community, and the department can represent their home with pride.

Related Press

DJC Oregon’s “Building Blocks: Lincoln City Police Department Facility”