Unless the city of Bainbridge Island builds a new police station on land it already owns, buying property for a new police station may cost between $1.4 million and $3 million, according to early estimates compiled by the city.
The city of Bainbridge Island has been looking to replace its outdated and cramped police headquarters that’s now located in an old fire hall on Winslow Way.
Four sites are still under consideration for the new police station:
• On land north of city hall, on parcels at 290 N. Madison Ave. and 328 N. Madison Ave.;
• On the city-owned gravel lot located southeast of City Hall Town Square;
• On the Coultas property on New Brooklyn Road near Highway 305; and
• On the Visconsi shopping center property at the corner of High School Road and Highway 305.
According to a Nov. 12 memo from Deputy City Manager Morgan Smith to the city council, putting the new police station north of city hall may be the priciest of the options under consideration.
That land, approximately .75 acres on two parcels on North Madison Avenue, has an estimated value of $2.5 million to $3 million.
City officials said the Coultas property, at New Brooklyn Road and Highway 305, has an estimated value of $1.4 million. City officials note that an adjacent 2.1 acre-parcel sold for $1.2 million in November 2013.
The big unknown is the estimated cost of locating the police station on land at the Visconsi shopping center site on the northeast corner of High School Road and Highway 305.
In Smith’s memo, she noted that the city has not received information from the developers on options at the Visconsi location, so a property value estimate was not available.
Locating the police station on the gravel parking lot south of Town Square would mean no property acquisition costs, as the city already owns the .65 acre chunk of land.
City officials earlier examined the possibilities of building a joint police-fire station project with the Bainbridge Island Fire Department on land already owned by the fire department on Madison Avenue, but that option was rejected by the city council in early October.
An earlier estimate by the city’s consultant on the project, Portland-based Mckenzie, Inc. pegged the cost of a new stand-alone police department building at $7.6 million. That estimate does not include the cost of land.
The city council will talk about the new police station location at its meeting this week.
The council will have a study session at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 18 at city hall.
