Pierce County considers $7.4M building purchase for Sheriff’s Office. Here’s why
The Pierce County Council is considering purchasing a building in Tacoma for $7.4 million that would serve as a storage site for evidence collected by the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office, according to council records.
Currently that evidence is stored in multiple locations, including the county’s Annex West building, which serves several county departments, including the Election Center. Pierce County previously approved a budget and capital facilities plan to expand the Election Center at its 2501 S. 35th St. site. That means the adjacent Sheriff’s Office property room would need to be relocated, according to a resolution before the council.
Under state law, the Sheriff’s Office is required to store some evidence for up to 99 years. After considering five different building options, the county’s broker Lee & Associates submitted a letter of intent on the county’s behalf to purchase a 31,299-square-foot warehouse located on 1.76 acres of land on the 5900 block of North 9th Street for $7.4 million, according to county records.
A fiscal note created by the county estimates it will cost an additional $2.5 million to improve two property rooms and $350,000 for engineering work, bringing the total cost to $10,250,000.
In moving evidence to the new location, the county would be able to increase its volume for storage of long-term and short-term evidence, according to county records. Sheriff’s spokesperson deputy Carly Cappetto said on March 3 that the department’s current space is full and the move is “long overdue.”
The purchase resolution will be before the county’s Rules and Operations committee for discussion at 10 a.m. on March 17, according to the council calendar. If approved, the county would close on the purchase in the second quarter of 2025, according to the county’s equity note on the matter.
Pierce County would relocate the property room to the new building, “while also continuing to host a property room in the basement of the County-City Building,” according to the equity note.
This story was originally published March 5, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
