Construction on the Collier County Sheriff’s forensics building project in East Naples will begin later this year after approval to more than double the cost to $68.2 million.
Collier County Infrastructure Sales Surtax Committee voted unanimously Sept. 12 to provide $35,213,832 more in funds from the 1-cent surtax to cover a shortfall. Once approved by the Board of County Commissioners, which still must approve a contractor, construction will begin.
“We approved this project five years ago and we’re now being asked to increase this project to almost double, but there are some enhancements,” Chairman Scott Lepore said before the vote. “I’ve been chairman for five years and … this is probably one of the most important projects that we’re ever going to be involved in.”
The sheriff’s office, which stores equipment in several locations, outgrew its space. The new building, fully funded by sales-tax dollars, will be built off City Gate Drive, just north of Paradise Coast Sports Complex and Great Wolf Lodge, east of Collier Boulevard and north of Interstate 75. The state-of-the-art forensics-evidence and Criminal Investigations Division building will be built on about 29 acres of a 344-acre parcel the county acquired in 1999.
Sheriff Kevin Rambosk had been asking for a new building for 20 years, when the surtax committee approved the $33 million project in May 2019. It then navigated through various challenges, including the pandemic, rising costs and market rates. In January 2022, county commissioners approved adding roughly 40,000 square feet more to consolidate CCSO operations in one location and eliminate an older building on Horseshoe Drive.
The forensic-evidence facility will feature a two-story main building that will house the Crime-Scene Investigation lab, office space, the Evidence Bureau and garage bays. The Criminal Investigation Department offices and administrative support will be on the second floor. A separate one-story, preengineered metal building will store evidence vehicles in controlled temperature. Other buildings include a generator enclosure.
Construction is expected to cost $58 million, according to four bids received in July, Facilities Project Manager Olivier Sureau told the committee. Engineering firms Emmons & Olivier Resources, Stantec and Manhattan Construction Group already have done work, with Manhattan transporting dirt to the site and overseeing the project from beginning to end as the construction manager at risk.
“We are grateful for this facility, which was approved by voters using funds collected through a surtax,” Rambosk said. “It will enable us to increase efficiency, consolidate evidence and accommodate the growth of our agency and our community.”
County voters approved the 1-cent sales tax referendum in 2018 to pay for authorized infrastructure projects, including the sheriff’s building. It was to be collected over seven years, or until it hit $490 million. Collections began January 2019, and the cap was met two years early, in May 2023.
When tax collections ended in December 2023, funds totaled $520.9 million, in addition to $20.2 million in interest, and $420 million has been spent so far, with $124 million in funding and interest still not allocated.
The surtax applies to the first $5,000 of the purchase price of an item of taxable personal property, such as a home purchase or a car. No one pays more than $50 yearly on a large purchase and visitors also pay. The Florida Department of Revenue divides the tax between the cities of Naples, Marco Island and Everglades City, and Collier County receives 91.2%, while the cities divide the rest. County commissioners have considered asking for another referendum.
