Sarasota Sheriff's Office plans major HQ expansion; $4.5 million set for design work

The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office is planning to significantly expand its headquarters on Cattleridge Boulevard.

The agency says it needs more space than the current headquarters provides. On Tuesday, county commissioners added the expansion project to the county’s Capital Improvement Program and appropriated $4.56 million in funding for the project's design work.

The county plans to build one or more new buildings near the existing one, which the agency has occupied since 2017. This would add approximately 60,000 square feet to the sheriff’s headquarters, which would almost double the current square footage. The Sheriff’s Office is also planning to reorganize uses within the existing building.

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When asked how much construction is expected to cost, county staff said that the full project budget, scope and associated funding needs will be developed through the initial design stages.

The design work is expected to begin next fall. County staff anticipate that construction will begin in summer 2025, but some site work may start sooner than then.

A county document notes that the Sheriff’s Office has worked to close out leases, consolidate storage and renovate existing spaces because of limited space at the current headquarters.

“Sarasota County will continue to increase in population and calls for service,” the document states. “This project is necessary to keep up with the demands of the citizens served by the Sheriff's Office.”

The project’s design work will be funded through impact fees. These are one-time payments imposed on development by local government to help pay for infrastructure improvements required to offset the impacts of growth, such as roads, government buildings and utilities. Sarasota County has nine different impact fees, and two of those (law enforcement and justice) will fund the design work.

The construction itself will be funded by impact fees and penny sales tax revenues. The balance of construction funding would need to come from the county’s general fund, the county document says.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Sarasota County Sheriff's Office headquarters to see major expansion