Ross vets concepts for civic campus renovation
With three concepts in the works for a new Ross civic campus, Town Council members said they want a better idea of how much each option will cost and look like.
The council received its first presentation on the project Thursday, calling for a second meeting before it directs staff to host a community workshop to help move the plan along.
“This is a really important decision,” said Town Manager Christa Johnson. “This is meant to be the beginning of the conversation with the council.”
KPA Group Inc. was hired to develop a master facilities plan for the civic campus at 31 Sir Francis Drake Blvd. The site includes Town Hall, the police station, the fire station, an ambulance bay, a public works building and a portable building.
The council decided in 2021 not to rebuild the fire station after the town surveyed residents on whether they would be willing to pay for the construction. At the time, it was determined that the buildings were in such poor shape that it would be less expensive to rebuild than remodel.
With that in mind, the three concepts presented Thursday did not include a fire station.
The concepts were similar in that they included improvements such as a new driveway alignment from Lagunitas Road and Laurel Grove Avenue; preserving trees; removing the modular building being used by planning staff; removing a public works building that is slated to be replaced with six apartments; and revising the parking layout.
Concepts one and two included renovating Town Hall.
Concept one would demolish the fire and police buildings but retain the facade. That spot
would become the campus' main building, with public works, police and paramedics on the ground floor, and administration and planning on the second floor.
Concept two would have the same building layout, but the facade of the police and fire building would also be bulldozed.
Concept two would be less expensive than concept one, said Paul Powers, president and chief executive officer of KPA. That's because maintaining the facade of the public safety building means crews would have to work around that structure. Tearing it down would create a more accommodating construction environment.
Councilmember Julie McMillan said she's interested in learning that cost difference.
“I recall when we were talking about doing this initially, we were pretty clear with the public that we were going to try to maintain as much of the original character of the buildings as possible,” McMillan said. “I guess it depends on how much we're going to save if we rip it down.”
However, she said, “I don't think that's going to fly with the public. It seems like that's an iconic emblem of our town, and I think there's going to be a lot of push back.”
In concept three, the police and fire building would be demolished and all of Town Hall would be
torn down except for the facade. This would call for a mostly single-story layout with all departments housed in one continuous building.
Matthew Evans, a project associate with KPA, said concept three would be the most expensive option, in the $25 million range. But final cost estimates have not been calculated.
“I think concept three is too far from what we have and it's too untraditional,” McMillan said.
For the most part, other council members agreed.
In 2020, estimates indicated it would cost about $28 million to reconstruct all buildings on the campus, and that the cost would be halved if the fire station were nixed from the plan. That was the major factor was in deciding not to rebuild the fire station.
The fire station, which is part of the Ross Valley Fire Department, is set to close in 2025. The firefighters would move to the department's other stations.
“I think the price is going to kill option three,” Mayor Beach Kuhl said.
Councilmember Elizabeth Robbins said she wants to learn more about concept three out of interest.
“I'm not sure I really want to tear this building down,” she said of Town Hall, “but I think it's a little premature to say we won't even consider option three.”
Johnson said the consultants would likely return to council at its April meeting. A public workshop would be planned later in the spring.