Two-Agency Architect Team Selected for Idaho Falls Police Complex Design
Partnership Includes Local Firm & National Expert in Police Facilities
Idaho Falls, ID – The Idaho Falls Police Department and City of Idaho Falls are excited to announce the selection of an architectural team to design the Idaho Falls Police Complex. The selection process, which has taken place over the past several months, has resulted in the selection of a partnership between an Idaho Falls based local architectural firm, and a national expert in the architectural design of police facilities.
The Idaho Falls Police Department is currently spread between eight different facilities around the City, with staff on a day to day basis at six of those locations. The existing facilities are dated, shared with other agencies and City departments and/or leased, borrowed, or temporarily donated, and are unable to meet the needs of the current department. The dated facilities and disjointed approach create numerous issues and prevent IFPD from best meeting the public safety needs of the Idaho Falls community.
In 2019, a committee of Idaho Falls citizens spent several months researching and evaluating the current IFPD facilities. In August of 2019, this committee presented their findings to the Idaho Falls City Council with the recommendation “that the City of Idaho Falls pursue a dedicated and consolidated police facility in order to best serve the law enforcement and public safety needs of Idaho Falls.”
In late 2019, following an extensive search of available properties, the City of Idaho Falls purchased the “Stockyard” property on Northgate Mile. The property was placed up for sale by the current owners and was found to meet all the necessary requirements for the new Idaho Falls Police Complex, including property size, proximity to high-crime areas, access to quickly respond to other areas of the City, cost, and benefit to the Idaho Falls community.
An environmental study, paid for with an EPA grant, was conducted on the property prior to purchase. That study found that there were no EPA issues with the property, with the exception of a small amount of asbestos in an existing building on the property. This was expected at the onset of the study and the abatement cost will be approximately $30,000 which is far less than was originally expected.
In November of 2019, the City of Idaho Falls Municipal Services Department posted a Request for Qualification/Proposals and invited architects from the city, region, and country to submit proposals to be considered for the design of the Idaho Falls Police Complex. The submission period closed in January and a thorough evaluation process began.
The City and IFPD were pleased to have a high number of quality proposals submitted by local, regional and national architectural firms. A total of 10 proposals were submitted, with the majority of proposals featuring partnerships between national firms specializing in police facilities and local firms rooted in the Eastern Idaho area or surrounding states.
A committee made up of staff from the Idaho Falls Police Department, Municipal Services, and Public Works evaluated each of the submitted proposals in a multi-stage evaluation process. At the conclusion of this process, the proposal submitted by the partnership of Architects Design Group and NBW Architects was selected and submitted to the Idaho Falls City Council for approval.
NBW Architects is a local architectural firm based right here in Idaho Falls, with 60 years of experience in various commercial building projects located in our region. The City and IFPD are excited to have a talented local architect on board for the project who will bring familiarity with our community and region as well as the local industry to the table. A number of local consultants are also expected to be included in the design and engineering process.
Architects Design Group is a national architectural firm that specializes in public safety, civic, and government facilities. Their portfolio includes over 350 police facilities around the country, with nearly 50 years of experience in the field.
Police facilities are extremely unique, with crime labs, interview rooms, secure evidence storage, weapons and ammunition storage and workspace, training needs, and many other considerations. Not to mention specialized requirements to ensure the resulting buildings are able to withstand 24/7/365 heavy use, meet critical infrastructure standards for public safety facilities, and to support the needs of the community as well as modern policing functions.
As unique as modern police facilities are, so is Idaho Falls. We are optimistic that this pairing of a specialist in these facilities as well as a talented local architect will ensure that the resulting facility will be able to meet the needs of the city and the police department many years into the future.
Last week on Thursday, April 23rd, the Idaho Falls City Council approved the selection of this partnership at the City Council meeting. Over the next several weeks, the Idaho Falls Police Department and Public Works staff will work closely with the architectural team to validate the needs of the police department and the aspects of a building that will best serve the Idaho Falls community.
At the conclusion of this process, the architectural team will provide Site Analysis, Master Planning, Conceptual Building Design and a Preliminary Cost Estimate for the project as well as other necessary architectural work. At that point, the Idaho Falls City Council will consider funding avenues for the Idaho Falls Police Complex before moving forward.
The Idaho Falls Police Department is excited to have the team of NBW Architects and Architects Design Group on board and looks forward to sharing the progress of the design process with the community in the coming weeks. IFPD would also like to thank City of Idaho Falls staff from various departments who have wholeheartedly given their expertise and effort to this process.
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