The new 49,057 square-foot Manteca Police station will be the most expensive municipal building ever constructed in the city.

The final price tag when the facility breaks ground tentatively in August in the 600 block of South Main Street is expected to exceed $90 million.

That reflects a cost of roughly $1,800 per square foot for everything from construction to soft costs such as furnishings and extending utility services, or more than five times the cost of a basic building.

The reason is simple.

It is designed to serve the community while protecting the people who do so.

For starters, a non-functioning police station in the event of a major seismic event would severely cripple law enforcement’s ability to protect the public.

It is why earthquake prone California has state-mandated seismic standards that are considered the world’s most stringent and advanced.

The standards for public buildings such as schools are steps above that required for general construction.

But for front-line public safety facilitates — police and fire stations — as well as hospitals are even higher when it comes to everything from how it is constructed to the ability to function in an emergency with sufficient backup generators.

The construction also needs to reflect today’s reality, something the current 20,000 square foot or so police station built in the 1970s doesn’t.

Outside building walls as well as security “fencing” employs concrete masonry units (CMU).

Windows are bullet resistant.

It is being done to fortify the police station.

The “it-won’t-happen-here” fantasy that drove some 26 years ago to counter that the current police station that Manteca city leaders deemed inadequate in terms of space and functionality was shattered nearly two decades ago with a gunman’s assault on the Ripon Police Department.

The attack, before midnight, was stopped by responding patrol and off-duty officers after the gunman fired into bullet resistant windows in the station occupied at the time by dispatchers and other personnel.

Ripon, just several years prior, had built a new city hall/police station complex that reflected 21st century standards for critical law enforcement structures.

The $90 million includes cutting edge components such as a “Sally Port” that adds to the overall cost.

A “Sally Port” is a secure, fortified, enclosed, two-door facility that allows a police unit to drive inside to facilitate the safe transfer of an individual in custody.

“It prevents escapes, protects officers from ambushes, and keeps the public safe from dangerous individuals getting loose,” Police Chief Stephen Schluer said.

Manteca will be the first city law enforcement agency in San Joaquin County with a Sally Port.

Being built for the

city’s future needs

The 49,072 square-foot building is designed for a police force of 130 front-line officers and the support staff that they need to be effective.

Currently, the department has 82 authorized positrons. They are in the process of hiring three out-of-budget positions to cover staffing gaps created by officers on long-term workmen’s compensation leave.

The new building, unlike the current facility, is being designed with long-term growth in mind.

The initial footprint assumes it will be adequate to cover needs on a 20-year horizon when it comes to growth, once the building is competed.

But the design allows the conversion of a sizable courtyard in the center of the station into more office space and facilities.

The new station is being made possible with growth fees collected for police facilities and Measure Q sales tax receipts needed to cover the cost of what is expected to be a 17-year bond.

Off-site costs

A cost not factored in when other sites were being explored for the police station, was a need for a traffic signal given the new headquarters will be accessed from the heavily traveled South Main Street corridor.

The access road to the police station will be tied into Wawona Street.

It will require the placement of traffic signals and alterations to the median on Main Street.

That portion of the project’s work will cost $1.5 million.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com