LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The process to redesign the former National Guard Armory in Lakeport in order to turn it into the future sheriff’s office headquarters is expected to start soon following the approval of a contract on Tuesday.
In an unanimous vote, the Board of Supervisors approved a professional services agreement in the amount of $247,926 with Dewberry Architects Inc. for architectural/engineering services for the remodel of the former California Army National Guard Armory, located at 1431 Hoyt Ave. next to the Lake County Jail.
The county completed the acquisition of the armory last year as part of a land swap with the state.
In exchange for the armory, the state received a vacant 15.5-acre property at 15837 18th Ave. in Clearlake which will be developed for affordable housing.
The plan is to remodel the armory in order to become the new headquarters for the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
Once the project is complete, the agency will move from its headquarters at 1220 Martin St. in Lakeport to the remodeled armory, which sits next to the Lake County Jail.
Public Services Director Lars Ewing presented the agreement with Dewberry for preliminary design services to the board on Tuesday morning.
Ewing explained that last year Public Services and the sheriff’s office solicited for design services for the former armory.
He said it will be what’s called “adaptive reuse” and renovated to reuse by the sheriff's office.
The original plan was to solicit for services from “cradle to grave,” all the way through construction administration, Ewing said.
However, due to a lack of preliminary awareness of what the vision is for the facility, Ewing said it was challenging for the consultants to scope out the future design.
As a result, Ewing said the county rolled back the scope to just include the preliminary design phase, which also will include a feasibility assessment and schematic design level work.
Once that work is done, Ewing said they fully anticipate moving ahead with design development and construction documents, which is what he said most people think about when considering design for a building.
He said the county received seven proposals for the work, with a consultant selection board ranking Dewberry the highest of those that responded.
Ewing, who recommended the board approve the agreement, said the scope of work is expected to be completed in four to five months.
As long as Dewberry is performing satisfactorily, Ewing said he anticipates getting from the firm a cost proposal for the next phase of work. He added that funding for the project is included in a couple of different budget units.
“Happy we’re here,” said Supervisor Bruno Sabatier.
There was no public comment before Supervisor EJ Crandell moved to approve the agreement and the board approved it unanimously.
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Supervisors approve design contract for new sheriff’s headquarters
- Elizabeth Larson
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