The Tigard City Council has approved the selection of an architect and received a tentative completion date for a proposed police and public works building, dependent on the passage of a bond that will be sent to voters in May 2026.

On Tuesday, May 13, Public Works Director Brian Rager told the Tigard City Council that seven architectural firms made proposals to build the joint facility on 9.5 acres of property at 13045 and 13225 S.W. Wall St. Those parcels are south of Hunziker Road and adjacent to the popular Potso Dog Park.

A team of employees and Otak, the city’s project director firm, pared down those architectural firms to three.

“Our selection was Scott Edwards Architecture – hands down the winner. It really didn’t require a lot of deliberation. They really knocked it out of the park as a team,” Rager said, adding that the firm previously performed a space study analysis for the city to determine the best site for a new public works building.

The firm has experience with both police and public works projects, including a new public works facility that opened in Wilsonville last year and Oregon City’s engineering and operations center.

During the presentation, Tigard Police Chief Jamey McDonald reiterated the fact that the police station, attached to Tigard City Hall on Hall Boulevard, was overcrowded and in need of major repairs. He said, over the years, a leaking roof in one part of the police station had been dubbed the “records unit water feature.”

“The buildings are seismically unsafe and it’s just inefficient to continue to try and repair these buildings,” McDonald said of the police and public works facilities.

McDonald pointed out that during a natural disaster, both police and public works personnel work as first responders.

He said a big problem, too, is neither department has single buildings they are working from.

“We have nine different locations that we’re located in – between police and public works – across different parts of the city and by doing this facility, it will put us all in one location. It increases efficiency to a level that I don’t even know that (the public works director) or I could even wrap our heads around,” McDonald said.

He said a new facility, expected to sit on land the city purchased last year, will end up saving taxpayers money in the long run.

“The city spent $15 million on that property. We studied it last year and found out, yes, it actually is big enough to meet our needs for decades to come,” McDonald said.

Dave Lintz, project director from Otak, said his goal is to make the project a success and that a solid figure regarding costs of the building will be available by December.

“Fundamentally, we expect to move in somewhere in the middle of (2028),” said Lintz, making the assumption that the bond passes.

Kim Ezell, a strategic initiatives program manager for the city, told the council the city is putting together a diverse citizen group to provide input on the future facility.

Earlier this month, a second bond poll was taken to gauge citizen support for the measure. A November 2024 poll of voters showed 45% would support a $150 million bond, a number that grew to 53% once more information was provided.