Frequently Asked Questions: Civic Center Campus and Public Safety Headquarters

Project Purpose & Benefits

  • The existing buildings on the Civic Center Campus are aging, inefficient, and reaching the end of their useful lives. In addition to the established needs for new Public Works and Public Safety facilities, Hennepin County’s Golden Valley Library is in need of a new facility. The current building outdated, structurally compromised with foundation instability and water intrusion issues, poor accessibility, and spatial inefficiencies. The water tower is also slated for standard reconstruction in the coming years

    In addition, City Hall is outdated, inefficient, and poorly designed for public access or modern operations. It lacks clear wayfinding, adequate space for services like the DMV, and sufficient meeting areas.

    These needs present the opportunity to complete one comprehensive Civic Center Campus redesign to allow the City to optimize adjacencies, share infrastructure, and plan cohesively for future growth.

  • The plan for a new Civic Center Campus in Golden Valley emerged from years of assessment, planning, and community engagement. A 2021 Municipal Facilities Study found that the City’s Public Works, Police, Fire, and City Hall buildings were aging, inefficient, and no longer met the needs of modern city services. This followed earlier work by a Facilities Study Task Force made up of residents, business leaders, and city staff, which helped identify key challenges and priorities. The City decided to first relocate Public Works to a new site on Olson Memorial Highway to free up land in the downtown civic area. This move created the opportunity to reimagine the existing Civic Center Campus as a more integrated, accessible, and community-focused space.

  • The Civic Center Campus investment plan will replace aging, inefficient, and outdated facilities with modern, accessible, and better-connected spaces. The improvements will address structural issues and create more cohesive layouts that support both staff efficiency and community use.

    By consolidating services and upgrading infrastructure, the plan will enhance how residents access city services, improve working conditions for staff, and ensure the Civic Center Campus can meet current and future needs. This means faster, more reliable service delivery and a better overall experience for the public.

  • The Public Works Department is responsible for managing a wide range of essential public infrastructure and services, such as water, sanitary sewer, and storm water systems; road maintenance and snow removal; park and trail maintenance; and more. These operations are spread across three different buildings, meaning staff often must travel between buildings to carry out their essential jobs, leading to lag times in services and increased labor costs.

    Inadequate space at these buildings also means they cannot accommodate today’s larger vehicles and equipment, equitable and inclusive accommodations for staff, and are not fully ADA compliant.

  • The Public Safety building does not provide adequate space for modern Fire Department and Police Department operations, specifically for training, equipment storage, and equitable and inclusive restrooms and locker rooms.

    Additionally, the configurations of the City’s fire stations do not meet today’s standards for protecting firefighters’ health and safety. Because they do not allow for living accommodations that would support a 24-hour firefighter duty crew, the City has faced challenges in retaining and attracting firefighters.

  • The current City Hall facility no longer supports the City's operational, spatial, or community engagement needs. The building’s outdated layout lacks clear wayfinding, has insufficient space for public services like the DMV, and provides inadequate meeting and waiting areas, making it confusing and uncomfortable for visitors. Most importantly, keeping City Hall at its current location blocks key redevelopment opportunities at a high-visibility intersection, limiting the City’s ability to create a vibrant, mixed-use downtown. A new, purpose-built City Hall would improve service delivery, enhance community access, and better align with long-term development goals.

  • Yes. The City of Golden Valley and Hennepin County have a Joint Powers Agreement. It was approved by the Golden Valley City Council on December 16, 2025.

  • Golden Valley residents rely on the City to provide a wide range of essential services, such as maintaining streets, parks, and water and sewer systems and providing emergency response and public safety.

    Over the past several years, the City has been assessing its aging public buildings to determine where improvements are needed. It concluded that the buildings that house the Police, Fire, and Public Works Departments can no longer adequately support the efficient delivery of City services.

    That is why the City has put forward a new long-term plan that will invest $105 million for the land and construction of a new Public Works building and a new Public Safety building that will serve as the headquarters for the Police and Fire Departments.

  • Over the last seven years, the City has pursued an extensive facility needs review process to gain a better understanding of the challenges at its aging buildings.

    During that time, residents played an important role in helping identify top priorities for new investments through community meetings, surveys, and a task force. The City then developed an investment plan that State lawmakers reviewed during the 2023 legislative session and authorized it to present a 1.25 percent local sales tax option to voters on November 7, 2023. The funds raised from the local sales tax will be used for the new Public Works and Public Safety facilities.

  • Golden Valley’s existing Police and Fire facilities are limited in ways that reduce effectiveness and safety - especially around training, equipment storage, and staff support. The current layout lacks adequate locker rooms, restrooms, and equity in accommodations, does not allow for 24‑hour duty crews, and cannot provide proper health and safety standards for firefighters. The new Public Safety building will address these problems by creating more functional work and training spaces, improved equipment storage, and inclusive staff support facilities.

    In addition, a critical upgrade is planned for firefighter staffing. The new building will include sleeping quarters and a kitchen, enabling the shift from an “on‑call” staffing model to a fully staffed 24‑hour firefighter duty crew. That change should help the City better attract and retain firefighting staff, improve response times, and ensure consistent readiness in emergencies.

  • The Public Safety building does not provide adequate space for modern Fire Department and Police Department operations, specifically for training, equipment storage, and equitable and inclusive restrooms and locker rooms.

    Additionally, the configurations of the City’s fire stations do not meet today’s standards for protecting firefighters’ health and safety. Because they do not allow for living accommodations that would support a 24-hour firefighter duty crew, the City has faced challenges in retaining and attracting firefighters.

  • Currently, Golden Valley’s fire stations only support an on-call staffing model because their configurations do not allow for living and eating quarters. Because today’s workers juggle more family and job obligations and need regular shifts, this staffing model has posed challenges in retaining and recruiting firefighting staff.

    The new Public Safety building will include adequate sleeping quarters and a kitchen, allowing the City to transition to a 24-hour firefighter duty crew and provide firefighters with the regular shifts they need.

Facility Location & Design

  • The Civic Center Campus Master Plan will lay out the City’s redevelopment, and once the Building Forward process is further along, the City will need to decide the viability of reuse. The City will continue to work with residents to identify opportunities and priorities for new investments.

  • More details of the building and design plans will come forward in late 2025 to early 2026, once the City moves forward with the design and development phase. The current space needs assessments are available on the City webpage and will be updated in early 2025.

  • The new Public Safety building will be located on the Civic Center Campus.

  • More details of the building and design plans will come forward in late 2025 to early 2026, once the City moves forward with the design and development phase with input from property owners and residents.

  • The Civic Center Campus Master Plan will lay out the City’s redevelopment, and once the Building Forward process is further along, the City will need to decide the viability of reuse. The City will continue to work with residents to identify opportunities and priorities for new investments.

Timeline & Cost

  • The Civic Center Campus Master Plan design team is expected to be selected in December 2025, with work to commence in early 2026 and delivery of the completed Civic Center Campus Master Plan later next year. Once the Master Plan is complete, the City will release a separate RFP for schematic design by or before summer 2027. Following this schedule, principal construction could begin as early as 2028 or 2029.

  • The total proposed cost of the master planning effort is $430,217. The City also has a Joint Power Agreement (JPA) with Hennepin County, and they will pay for 20% of total cost of the master planning effort. The City's total cost would be $344,174, coming from City's Building Forward CIP and Local Sales Tax special revenue (eligible for Public Safety-related planning expenses).

    Once the plan is further along, the City will share cost estimates for each building.

  • The Public Safety Facility is part of the Civic Center Campus Master Plan. The Master Plan design team is expected to be selected in December 2025, with work to commence in early 2026 and delivery of the completed Civic Center Campus Master Plan later next year. Once the Master Plan is complete, the City will release a separate RFP for schematic design by or before summer 2027. Following this schedule, principal construction could begin as early as 2028 or 2029.

  • Item descriptioThe new 1.25% local sales tax over a 30-year period will cover:

    • $45 million to build a new Police and Fire headquarters building

    The local sales tax dollars are also being utilized to build a new Public Works Facility. This new facility will allow Public Works to move to a better location off the Civic Center Campus and free up additional space onsite. n