The City of Roswell has identified the site of its new Public Safety Headquarters, which will house offices for both Roswell’s Police Department and Fire Department. During a Special Called Mayor and Council Meeting Monday, July 29, City Council unanimously approved a contract to purchase the Roswell Summit Office Buildings, located at 1080 Holcomb Bridge Road.

The Summit property was selected from among eight other potential sites due to its ideal central location and the site’s existing buildings and facilities, which are well-suited to meet the current and future needs of Roswell’s public safety agencies.

“Public safety is a vital priority in Roswell, especially as our City grows. In 2022, Roswell voters overwhelmingly supported a bond referendum that included a new Public Safety Headquarters. Since that time, we have been working to identify the most ideal location for a centrally located headquarters, and we’re excited to take a major step in delivering on that promise with the purchase of this site,” said Mayor Kurt Wilson.

For many years, both Roswell’s Police Department and the Fire Department have been steadily outgrowing their current office space. The Police Department, for example, has more than 160 employees sharing very limited space at their existing 39 Hill Street offices, and the Fire Department has converted closets to house staff at its administrative building on Hembree Road.

Purchase Details

The City of Roswell is purchasing the property, which it intends to close on in October 2024, for $8 million (with an additional $600,000 in closing costs). The initial asking price was $19.5 million, and the appraised value of the property is $12.5 million. Along with its consultant, Seer World, The City of Roswell negotiated a contract that is of great benefit to the City.

Under the contract to purchase, the City will buy building 100 for $8 million, and the seller, Sugar Oak Management, will donate building 200 to the City. The City will then lease building 200 back to the seller for four years at a price of $1 per year—allowing the management company to accommodate existing tenants and plan for an eventual transition out of the space.

The City is buying the building for what Sugar Oak Management paid for it in 2016. Throughout the duration of the four-year lease period, the City will pay insurance on both buildings, handle grounds maintenance, trash removal, and pay water/stormwater costs. Sugar Oak Management will pay for janitorial, security, electric, and gas for the 200 building.

Purchasing this property for the reduced price allows the City to leverage its approved bond dollars for other public safety facilities for the Police and the Fire departments. The City has found a much more favorable and cost-effective option by purchasing an existing property, which eliminates construction cost uncertainty. If the City were to build a new building, it is estimated that the cost would be approximately $54 million, not including the cost of the land.

Summit Selected from Nine Potential Sites

The selection of the Summit site resulted from a thorough and objective assessment of nine (9) potential sites performed by the City’s consultant, Jacobs Engineering, which utilized a weighted, criteria-based approach to assess the sites.

Criteria included physical characteristics, traffic and mobility, utilities, operational factors.

The Summit site scored the highest, offering the following:

  • Two existing office buildings (#100 and #200) on an 8.7-acre parcel and 127,000 square feet of office space—enough square footage to house both the Police Department and the Fire Department with ample room for future growth.
  • An ideal location in the central area of the City where the majority of emergency calls are made and where there is the most activity.
  • A five-minute service level that covers 20 square miles of the City.
  • In addition, purchasing the property will be a catalyst for further redevelopment and economic development in that area of the City.

For more information about the site assessment, please see the July 29 presentation.

Roswell’s Ongoing Commitment to Public Safety

The establishment of a new Public Safety Headquarters is a vital part of the City’s ongoing commitment to support first responders and enhance safety and responsiveness in the community. This is the second major public safety bond project that the Mayor and Council have delivered. In mid-February 2024, the City purchased the former Sharp Shooters building on Highway 9 after it was put on the market for sale to serve as the City’s 911 Center and is currently finalizing the remodeling plans for the building.

In addition, Mayor Wilson and the City Council approved best-in-class pay for the Police and Fire departments, adopted a five-year plan to transition from a part-time Fire Department to full-time staffing model, and approved the Fire Department’s 48-hour/96-hour schedule pilot program, which started in July 2024.

Next Steps

The City is developing a logistics plan to facilitate moving Police Department personnel from their offices on Hill Street and the Fire Department from their offices on Hembree Road into Summit Building 100.

To learn more about the City of Roswell’s Bond Program, visit www.RoswellGov.com/Bond.