For Immediate Release
Board of Supervisors approves site selection, design criteria for new county government center
SANTA ROSA, CA | January 31, 2023
The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors today approved the selection of the existing county administration center site on Administration Drive in Santa Rosa for a phased construction of a new Sonoma County Government Center.
Tentative plans call for one or two buildings with up to 375,000 square feet of space, providing a general space standard of 170 square feet of workspace for roughly 1,700 county employees, representing approximately 40 percent of all county employees. Teleworking was considered in the estimate for required space, with employees who telework not requiring a full-size workstation.
The Board also approved certain project design criteria intended to equitably allocate space, maximize efficiency and use, minimize environmental impacts, and control scope and cost. For example, building height would be limited to seven stories to avoid costs required of high-rise construction, including additional seismic mitigation, and substantial foundations. At a minimum, the project will also use the California Green Building Standards Code as the standard for sustainable design.
“Reinvesting in the county campus in a phased approach is consistent with both the county’s Strategic Plan and the Comprehensive County Facilities Plan,” said Chris Coursey, chair of the Board of Supervisors. “New construction on the existing site can address the growing backlog of deferred maintenance, reduce disruption to county operations during construction, and provide long-term value to the public through reduced costs and improved service.”
In both plans, parking areas would be ADA compliant and equipped with solar canopies, EV charging stations, and battery storage to support a campus microgrid. Last-mile transit via modified Sonoma County Transit routes would connect the site to SMART, airport, and other regional hubs. A one-story Emergency Operations Center would be part of later-phase construction in both plans.
Both plans also include the demolition of five buildings and their foundations, including Permit Sonoma, Human Services building, Administration building, Fiscal building and La Plaza buildings A and B. The Family Justice Center will continue to house District Attorney’s Office staff and non-governmental organizations until approximately 2035 when a plan for the Hall of Justice will be presented. The Information Systems building will remain and house county archives.
The one-building scenario is estimated to cost $682 million while a two-building scenario is estimated at $721 million. More than $50 million for the project will come from savings from deferred maintenance on the current county government center as well as $15 million from the 2021 sale of the 71-acre site on Chanate Road that once served as home to the county’s Community Hospital.
The county could also finance construction of the new campus by issuing tax- exempt Certificates of Participation, which are commonly used by counties and cities to fund capital projects. Based on current market conditions, the county could generate approximately $239 million in proceeds from $15 million in annual payments over a repayment term of 30 years. With $50.7 million in available fund balance, the county could afford approximately $290 million in total project costs for the first phase of a two-building scenario, plus the Emergency Operations Center. Supplemental sources of funds could include the lease and/or sale of land, and public-private-partnerships.
At the conclusion of today’s meeting, the Board of Supervisors directed staff to begin pre-project planning including a feasibility analysis, required environmental studies, land use entitlements and development of plans and specifications. That process is expected to take 12 to 24 months.
All materials related to the Sonoma County Government Center project, including today’s presentation, are available at:
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Media Contact:
Dan Virkstis, Communications Specialist
publicaffairs@sonoma-county.org
(707) 565-3040
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