- November 4, 2024
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The Flagler County Sheriff's Office is preparing to buy a new substation in Palm Coast in the former Wachovia Bank building near Island Walk for $875,000 to replace the one it's currently renting in City Marketplace.
The move to the new location at 14 Palm Harbor Village Way is expected to cost about $1 million including closing costs and renovation but will save the agency the money it has been paying in rent at the City Marketplace location since it moved there in 2013.
"I think it’s a much better vision," Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly told Flagler County commissioners at their May 7 board meeting. "It give us a real footprint in what's now known as District 2 for the city of Palm Coast, and instead of paying rent, the county will actually own the structure that should appreciate in value. I think this is a much better way to go about serving the residents of Palm Coast."
The Sheriff's Office has maintained a location in Palm Coast since 1981, in three different locations, Staly said.
"I inherited a rented office space that is not appropriate for the sheriff's needs," he said. "It's not visible to the community, it leaks, its just too small, and I could go on and on and on, and besides that, it's outrageously priced."
The new location is 4,600 square feet. It had been sold to Wachovia in 2008 for $550,000.
The contract for the current location ends in December, Staly said, "and there’s no way I'm going renew that," so he began looking for new locations.
The Sheriff's Office has already had $72,000 set aside annually to pay for the rent at City Marketplace, and to pay for a mortgage at the new location, it will pay $90,000 a year. Renting at a new location, Staly said, would cost about $20-$25 per square foot.
The County Commission voted unanimously to approve the purchase of the Wachovia building.
"We'll finally have a permanent home that will last 20, 30 years, and sufficient parking and so forth," Staly said.
