Thurston County Unveils New Sheriff’s Office HQ

CONTACT: Susan Melnyk, Chief Communications Manager, (360) 867-2097 or susan.melnyk@co.thurston.wa.us

Thurston County Unveils New Sheriff’s Office HQ
Projected to come in on target at $20 million, the County delivers a modern, secure public safety facility with Public Safety Sales Tax funds and a careful remodel.

OLYMPIA – Thurston County officials today announced the completion of the new Thurston County Sheriff’s Office (TCSO) Headquarters. The project marks a major milestone for local public safety by reuniting patrol, administration, investigations, finance, and evidence processing teams under one modern roof – two weeks ahead of schedule and on budget. 

Faced with tight financial constraints County officials and project leaders chose “adaptive reuse” over a costly new build. By remodeling the interior of an existing, well-maintained, LEED-certified building purchased from the state of Washington, the County secured a long-term asset for the community for approximately $20 million and preserved more property-tax revenues and Public Safety Sales Tax funds for other county services while successfully exiting a series of expensive commercial leases. Because the purchase and remodel stayed well under budget, remaining funds were used to purchase an additional impound lot facility at 7721 New Market Street SW in Tumwater for the Sheriff's Office, providing the county with an additional asset and removing the need to lease space for the impound.

The transition punctuates a decade-long search for adequate space for the Sheriff’s Office. Since 2011, overcrowding and aging HVAC, electrical and plumbing began forcing Sheriff’s staff out of the 1970’s-era County Courthouse and into Mottman Road area warehouse buildings. Upgrading systems in the old building to current codes was considered, but the roughly $20 million price tag would have drained resources without adding a single square foot of needed space. 

That impasse ultimately led the County to shift its strategy and look for an existing property to purchase. While finding the building was a victory, it introduced a new challenge: casting a vision that decisions makers could get behind. The puzzle was figuring out how to provide for the Sheriff’s Office specialized security, technology and community engagement needs under a single roof with only modifications and not a complete do-over. 

For the County project manager spearheading the renovation portion of the project, the assignment was a full circle moment.

“I grew up in a law enforcement family in Clallam County and later spent four years as a police officer in a small town – you figure out how to get a job done right with limited resources,” said Thurston County Capital Project Manager Tony Schall. “When I stepped into this project, I understood the operational needs of the Sheriff’s Office which helped, and our project team understood that the real mission is to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars: Bids were competitive, decisions were made within a few days, the team stayed flexible and collaborative. That’s how we brought this in on time and under budget – wish lists never became demands – the attitude was always one of public service and the focus was always on the community.”

Beyond fiscal efficiency, officials say the headquarters building has already transformed internal communications. By bringing administration, support services and patrol together under one roof, the Sheriff’s Office is becoming the Sheriff’s team - establishing vital face-to-face connections and building relationships that accelerate decision making when handling complex fast-moving information. This streamlined environment has eliminated the need for routing files through multiple locations and making phone calls or sending emails to unknown people. It’s driving significant time savings and camaraderie among colleagues.

Staff in the Sheriff’s Office say the new building is also fundamentally changing how justice and victim care are delivered in Thurston County. Previously, critical infrastructure like evidence storage was in multiple buildings including the 50-year-old County Courthouse basement. Today, evidence lockers and commercial-grade temperature-controlled and digitally monitored storage are centralized in one location, dramatically improving chain-of-custody to protect the integrity of court cases and making it easier for community members to pick up their belongings when a case ends. 

This new-to-the-County building solves other problems, too. The interior remodel was planned with the community in mind and includes rooms thoughtfully furnished for the care and recovery of crime victims, including children. These spaces have softer seating and warmer lighting than the clinical interrogation rooms and reflect a trauma-informed approach to public safety. They provide a secure environment where victims can feel safe, begin processing what happened to them and start the healing process immediately.

According to Captain Dave Johnson, a 40-year veteran of the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office representing TSCO on the project, the new facility not only solves space and modernization needs, it also reflects the expanding role of law enforcement. “We have deputies working 24/7 – people may have seen them pursuing suspects with sirens blaring, but they also do the quiet work of making genuine human connections. They help burglary victims navigate the immediate aftermath of a break-in to ensure their home is secure, they educate vulnerable families on safety strategies, they sit at kitchen tables to listen,” Captain Johnson said. “We live here, too, and we love this community. Our new headquarters simply gives us the tools to be better public servants.”

The building also has security features that weren’t part of the old courthouse - perimeter cameras, fenced-in parking for the patrol fleet and staff, areas for tactical training with regional law enforcement partners, an incidence-response communications room as well as a large space for the entire staff to meet for required HR trainings. After the remodel, the new home of the Sheriff’s Office provides nearly everything the team needed, including the room to accommodate growth for another 15 to 20 years.

This fiscal and adaptive project precision is the result of a playbook developed by the County’s Central Services team - the department charged with managing the County’s capital projects, facilities, and fleet logistics.

Since 2022, the team under the steady stewardship of recently retired leader Rick Thomas, has utilized a disciplined project management framework that locks in design needs at the earliest stages of development. Thomas’s leadership provided the critical continuity and operational pace that insulated the technical team allowing them to deliver stellar work despite evolving organizational needs.

This is the fourth capital project this County project team has brought in on time and in line with budget targets, including the water lab at Thurston County Public Health and Social Services completed in 2022, the voter services building at Mottman Road in Tumwater completed in 2024, the ballot processing center also off Mottman Road in Tumwater last year, and now the Sheriff’s Office Headquarters building also in Tumwater. 

“The County is seeing big wins in big capital infrastructure development thanks to the dedicated public servants who fill the ranks of County staff,” said Chair of the Thurston County Board of County Commissioners Tye Menser. “Staff know the business of the County and the people in our community. They are experts taking a practical community-first approach. It’s tremendously helpful to the Board knowing we can rely on the project team to responsibly steward public funds and partner with us to secure a sound fiscal future.” 

Officials add that large-scale municipal projects require rapid definitive decision making because mid-course design changes and delays directly translate into dramatic time and costs increases for taxpayers. The team relies on frequent synchronized communications between a lean crew of Central Services, County Information Technology specialists, and building contractors to do the work and integrate complex modern public safety data systems while holding a hard line on the budget.

“The County's capital strategy works for our community,” said Thurston County Manager Leonard Hernandez. “Our Public Health and Social Services team, Auditor and Sheriff’s Office brought their needs to the project team early, trusted the professional process and strongly aligned with Central Services on the side of careful spending. As we continue to reduce budgets and look for solutions to structural funding issues, we are prioritizing community taxpayers who fund County buildings and services.”

Project team members agree that they feel a sense of duty to the citizens of Thurston County to get the capital projects right. “We’re completely focused on representing the community in project decisions. We wrestle with the everyday challenges of managing cost increases and the needs of County offices and departments. We work to make wise decisions with taxpayer dollars. As cliché as it sounds, it drives our team,” Schall said. 

To learn about the County’s next big capital infrastructure project – the Regional Justice Center visit https://www.thurstoncountywa.gov/departments/board-county-commissioners/courthouse-and-regional-administrative-buildings-project 

To stay up to date with ongoing efforts to balance the County’s budget, visit www.ThurstonCountyWA.gov and search “Balancing the budget”