West Linn's new operations center now has a firm price tag: $38.2 million for construction.
The City Council approved the guaranteed maximum price at its Aug. 18 meeting, clearing the way for full construction to begin possibly in October or later this winter at the Salamo Road site.
Pre-construction work, including grading and utility installation, is already underway after the council allocated $17 million earlier this year to get heavy excavation done during the dry season.
"The operations complex is a generational investment in our community and the city's ability to provide essential services for the next decades or centuries, honestly," Mayor Rory Bialostosky said at the Aug. 18 meeting. "With an investment of this magnitude, we have the duty to take every reasonable step to deliver the project in the most cost-effective way for the community."
The $38.2 million covers hard construction costs only. The broader $45 million bond approved by the council funds the full project, including design and other soft costs. That bond will be repaid through the city's streets, storm, sewer, water and parks funds.
Replacing a facility built for 3,000 residents
The new complex will consolidate public works crews handling water, storm, sewer, streets and fleet maintenance alongside parks maintenance staff into one purpose-built facility. The current operations buildings sit on two acres in a residential area and date to the 1930s, according to city records, when West Linn's population was about 3,000. The city now has nearly 28,000 residents.
The facility has been designed to the same seismic standards as hospitals and fire stations, according to a city press release issued July 28.
The project team includes Skanska as general contractor, Scott Edwards Architecture, HHPR, Coffman Excavation and Klosh Group.
Long road to approval
Planning for the project dates to 2017, when Public Works Director Erich Lais first contacted ODOT about purchasing the Salamo Road property. The city bought the site for $396,000 in 2021.
The path to construction hit a bump when the Savanna Oaks Neighborhood Association appealed the Planning Commission's 4-3 conditional use permit approval from March 2026. Neighbors raised concerns about geological risks tied to a 1969 landslide at the site and the single access road off Salamo Road, according to The Oregonian.
Hearings officer Tommy A. Brooks denied the appeal on July 28, ruling the access road met city code and had been approved by Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue. In the city press release that day, Lais said the decision "allows us to move forward with a facility that will serve West Linn residents safely and efficiently for decades."
