How does Tigard’s proposed facility compare to other cities?

In reviewing recent and proposed city facility projects nationwide, it’s exceptionally rare to find a per-capita cost of $1,500, let alone the $2,855 per-capita police and public works project cost in Tigard.

Comparing Tigard’s $150 million bond measure to other contemporaneous projects illustrates how much of an outlier the current proposal is, even when factoring in high contemporary construction costs and the inclusion of multiple departments.

Only homeowners would shoulder the cost of Tigard’s $150 million bond. But per-capita ratios based on all of cities’ residents provide broader proportional comparisons.

While acknowledging the high comparisons, city officials, including Mayor Yi-Kang Hu, have said the Tigard project is exceptional in scale and complexity.

Either way, the four examples below suggest the Tigard cost figure is high:

Project: New Police Station and Support Facility.
Total Cost: $92 million.
Population Served: 90,000 residents.
Cost Per Capita: $1,022 per resident.

The Takeaway:

To account for the “Public Works” aspect of Tigard’s bond, Manteca is also planning a separate Public Works and Parks corporation yard for roughly $11.4 million. Even if you combine these into a joint $103.4 million price tag, the per-capita cost only rises to $1,148, still less than half of Tigard’s figure, despite operating in California’s famously expensive construction market.

Project: Joint Public Safety Headquarters (Police, Fire, and 9-1-1 Operations).
Total Cost: $300 million (part of a larger $450 million public safety bond).
Population Served: 450,000 residents.
Cost Per Capita: $666 per resident (or $1,000 per resident if applying the entire $450 million bond).

The Takeaway:

Miami is proposing a massive mega-project to replace a 50-year-old headquarters that is actively flooding. This illustrates how joint-campus concepts are supposed to scale; even for a major metropolitan hub combining three vital, heavy-equipment emergency departments, the per-resident cost remains a fraction of the Tigard proposal.

Project: New Police Station
Total Cost: $12 million.
Population Served: 14,450 residents.
Cost Per Capita: $830 per resident.

The Takeaway:

On the smaller end of the spectrum, Grandview is building to accommodate rapid population growth. This demonstrates that even for smaller municipalities that lack the broad tax base of larger cities to easily absorb infrastructure costs, per-capita expenses generally stay well under $1,000.

Project: New Police Headquarters
Total Cost: $70 million
Population Served: 111,000 residents
Cost Per Capita: $630 per resident

The Takeaway:

A neighboring Washington County city that is roughly twice the size of Tigard is budgeting less than half the total cost for a brand-new headquarters. The per-resident financial burden is nearly 75% lower.

Project: Beaverton Police Department and Office of Emergency Management.
Total Cost: $45 million
Population Served: 98,000 residents.
Cost Per Capita: $459 per resident.

The Takeaway:

One of the most striking narratives is the local comparison. Tigard is asking a population of 56,000 to shoulder a $150 million debt, while immediately next door, Beaverton built a facility for $45 million (serving 98,000). Much of the price difference can be attributed to rapidly rising construction costs.

Project: Hypothetical Joint Police & Public Works Campus
Total Cost: $162,716,207.69.
Population Served: 57,000 
(Note: The city “upsized” the scope of the  smaller municipalities of Molalla and Wilsonville to match Tigard’s population and project elements).
Cost Per Capita: $2,855 per resident.

The Takeaway:

Tigard Life asked the City of Tigard to provide any “comparables” they used in justifying their valuation of Tigard’s project. The City of Tigard submitted this hypothetical project. Because they could not locate a relevant real-world combined facility in the Northwest, city staff conceptually merged the recently built Molalla Police Station and the Wilsonville Public Works complex.

How the City Reached $162.7 Million: To bridge the gap between those original, smaller projects and Tigard’s proposed $150 million bond, the city heavily adjusted the baseline numbers to account for Tigard’s size and site-specific needs: Upsized Core Facilities: They scaled up the Molalla PD blueprint to an estimated $56 million and the Wilsonville Public Works blueprint to nearly $48.9 million to match Tigard’s operational footprint. Additional Scope Elements ($21.5 Million): The city added over $21 million in premium features required for the Tigard site. This includes a structured elevated parking deck, a 50-yard shooting range, and extensive mass grading and retaining walls required by the specific site contours. Owner Costs ($36.2 Million): Finally, they added $36.2 million bucket for land purchase, permits, design management fees, and “FF&E” (Furniture, Fixtures, and Equipment). By mathematically combining these adjusted projects and adding over $57 million in site premiums and owner costs, the city argues that their actual $150 million proposal is highly cost-effective.