"I think you'll be impressed at how far they've gotten this quickly," Jones said of the firm that began work on the project about five weeks ago. "Just buckle in and hang on for the ride."
Lakeway Police Chief Todd Radford (left) reviews a schematic for the proposed new Lakeway Justice Center with city council members.[/caption]The project, located at the corner of Lohmans Crossing and Lohmans Spur—across the street from the Lake Travis library, will consist of a two-story building with a police staff entrance on a middle level, a feature made possible because of the sloping terrain of the site, said Harold Sargent, president of the structure's architectural firm Brinkley, Sargent, Wiginton. The middle level will feature a staircase to an upper level that, under the current design, will house the main lobby, training room, security station, interview rooms for victims and suspects, forensic rooms, offices, canine area, briefing room and the criminal investigation department. A lower level will include police lockers, showers, exercise room and dressing area.
The middle level will feature a staircase to an upper level that, under the current design, will house the main lobby, training room, security station, interview rooms for victims and suspects, forensic rooms, offices, canine area, briefing room and the criminal investigation department. A lower level will include police lockers, showers, exercise room and dressing area.
The project will also include a sally port—a driveway that allows police officers to securely transport prisoners in and out of the building.
Limestone blocks will be used for the base of the approximately 29,000-square-foot building, and stucco will extend up to its metal roof.
The property is currently undeveloped and borders an 82-acre tract purchased by developer Haythem Dawlett from the Lakeway Municipal Utility District earlier this year.
The price tag, originally estimated at $12 million for construction, does not include the land purchase of the 5-acre tract designated in the presentation or the additional property that may be needed to accommodate the city's impervious cover restrictions and the project's water quality features.
"I'm very excited about the progress we've made and the direction we're going," Lakeway Police Chief Todd Radford said. "It's definitely something we need. For right now, we're just staying on track and seeing what's next."
Bain said the final design and price will be determined by mid-February in order to set the item up for May's bond election. The city does have a verbal commitment on the property proposed as the site for the new Justice Center, he said.
"We're on a very short time frame, and we've got to get good information so we can get the bond out and get the public informed and educated on the bond," Bain said. "We have a verbal price [for the tract] but the property keeps changing size. We haven't gotten to the final dimensions so we haven't written up an actual contract."
