City Of Sandy Springs Closes On Purchase For New Public Safety Building

Press release from City of Sandy Springs:

10/06/2020

During its October 6, 2020 meeting, the Sandy Springs City Council announced it had completed the purchase of 620 Morgan Falls Road, with the site to become the future home for the Sandy Springs Police Department and Municipal Court. The City purchased the property for $10,990,000 from the TPA Group. Savills served as the City’s broker.

“One of our highest priorities is the public safety of our citizens. To ensure that our public safety personnel can do their best in meeting that objective, we need to provide them with the tools, training, and facilities they need. This has been a multi-year search to find an appropriate property, which meets the spatial needs requirements for our police department, municipal court, and other public safety operations as part of a single property,” said Sandy Springs Mayor Rusty Paul.

The Sandy Springs Police Department, formed in July 2006, was initially located in offices on Barfield Road, moving to leased space in the Morgan Falls Office Park in June 2011. Until 2018, the Sandy Springs Municipal courtroom also served as City Council Chambers and a facility for City-led public meetings. Due to the non-public safety businesses within the office park, separate, secured parking is not available for employees, vehicles, or equipment for Municipal Court or the Police Department. The City currently leases three buildings at Morgan Falls Office Park for an annual fee of $757,174.68.

The purchased four-story, 109,000 square-foot building, is located on 12.3 acres and contains parking for more than 750 vehicles. The building, constructed in 1990, most recently housed the U.S. headquarters for WorldPay. The City plans to repurpose the facility to include sally port areas (secured entrance areas for prisoners), secured holding and interview spaces, and larger and secured lobby areas. Long-range plans include the addition of auxiliary police uses including vehicle maintenance bays, a shoot house, and a gun range for training. The site is also anticipated to house a future fire station.

During its October 6, 2020 meeting, the City Council approved a budget amendment to move $11,190,000 from the City’s General Fund, fund balance to the Public Facilities Authority (PFA) fund. The funds will be applied towards the purchase cost of the Morgan Falls property and replenish $500,000 previously reallocated from Contingency funding within the Public Facilities Authority to facilitate the property transaction.

In September, the Sandy Springs Public Facilities Authority and Sandy Springs City Council approved issuance of the City’s Series 2020 Refunding Revenue Bonds. The $17M in refunding dollars will reduce the City’s debt service payment by approximately $623,000 per year over the bonds’ life. The savings to the City’s General Fund will allow the City to pay a portion of the anticipated debt service on the upcoming $60M bond, scheduled for sale on October 20, 2020.

This press release was produced by the City of Sandy Springs. The views expressed are the author's own.