The City of Lakewood regularly works to evaluate and align its municipal offices, facilities, and real estate holdings to ensure that the government is operating efficiently, providing high-quality services for residents, and maintaining our shared goal of strong fiscal stewardship.

To that end, last year, the City completed a space assessment of the Lakewood City Hall campus (Administrative Offices, Lakewood Municipal Court, Lakewood Police Headquarters, and the nearby Annex building). After review, the City engaged Weber Murphy Fox Architects (“ WMF”), who completed the assessment report linked below.

The report found that the demands of the departments and employees housed at City Hall have now meaningfully outpaced our existing facilities. One of the most pressing challenges is the insufficient and inequitable facilities for the increased number of female police officers serving the community. The needs of the police are only the first of many space issues and challenges faced by the multiple departments housed in Lakewood City Hall, and there are additional structural complexities around achieving ADA compliance, workplace efficiencies, and secure public access.

The most pressing and immediate challenge lies with the Police Department headquarters, where the space demands are significant and a solution on site in our current configurations would demand an expansion project with a current cost estimate in excess of $10M. That is a significant number, especially given Lakewood’s other major capital demands presently putting pressure on our budget and financing capacity (e.g., sewers/IWWIP, etc.), and the City must explore its options in the face of such a number. The consultants at WMF have provided some initial potential options to address our space challenges, which the Planning and Development Department is currently exploring.

Timeline

Early Discussions

Late 2021: Police Chief Kaucheck highlights the need to address space challenges within the LPD to Mayor George as a potential 2022 focus area.

Q1 2022: The Administration discusses how to assess LPD and other space challenges at City Hall and determines this should be a budget priority.

Q2 and Q3, 2022: Planning and Development Department begins forecasting the budget needs for hiring a space consultant

Fall 2022: Budget presentations include a request for space consultant fees for the fiscal year 2023.

Request For Proposals and Initial Assessment

March 3, 2023: Request for Proposals issued seeking teams of qualified architects and interior designers to study the Lakewood City Hall building and potentially reorganize the layout to improve or enhance the office space, security check-in, upgrade the fire alarm system, and more upgrades.

March 16, 2023: Firms invited to a walk-through at Lakewood City Hall.

May 2023: Weber Murphy Fox (WMF) consultant contract approved by the City.

Space Utilization Study RFP

Communication sent to City Council

December 16, 2024: A joint letter signed by Mayor George and Council Pres. Kepple was sent to City Council outlining some of the space challenges that City Hall and the employees who reside in the building face. The letter also details past examples of the Municipal Government’s work in creating more efficient spaces such as the Cove Community Center project, the new Animal Shelter building, and the renovated Refuse and Recycling Center.

Letter to Council
Video

January 29, 2025: Communication Referred to Committee of the Whole.

Presentation

February 3, 2025: Committee of the Whole Meeting: Mayor George, Police Chief Fischer, Planning Director Angela Byington, and David Thal of Weber Murphy Fox presented on the City Hall Space Assessment and discussed possible solutions with members of City Council.

Meeting Minutes
Meeting Video

Further Communication to City Council

April 21, 2025: Communication from Mayor/Administration (P. 33) and Lakewood Municipal Court (P. 35) presented at City Council Meeting. Referred to Committee of the Whole.

Meeting Agenda
Meeting Video

June 16, 2025: Mayor George and Chief Fischer Present to Committee of the Whole on City Hall Space Constraints

Presentation includes challenges that City Hall staff and the Police Department face; a chart comparing Lakewood to other local police departments’ station spaces in relation to their number of officers; and cost comparisons for renovation of the current City Hall building, offsite new construction, or offsite adaptive reuse construction.

Meeting Minutes (Including Presentation Slides, P. 5)
Meeting Video

June 18, 2025: Letter Of Intent Signed Between City of Lakewood and LDC Warren Limited, LLC

Letter of Intent

July 7, 2025: Communication from the Mayor regarding the purchase of 1470 Warren Road; Resolution 2025-34

Meeting Video

September 2, 2025: Communication from Director Byington regarding acquisition of 1470 Warren Road – Due Diligence discussion

October 20, 2025: Communication from Council President Sarah Kepple regarding Council process

City Hall Space Due Diligence Update