Plans for a new 55,000 square foot Volusia County Sheriff’s Office headquarters, which is estimated to cost over $38 million, moved forward on Tuesday.
The Volusia County Council voted 6-0 to approve the county’s contract with Wharton-Smith to design and build the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office administration building. District 5 Councilman David Santiago was not at the meeting.
“This is going to be exactly what we need in this location,” District 4 Councilman Troy Kent said.
The contract is for over $38.36 million. The county’s budget calls for $30 million to be financed by the county with debt in the form of bond proceeds.
Meanwhile, the county and the sheriff’s office are trying to get a state appropriation to fill the gap between that amount and the contract price. Rep. Bill Partington and Sen. Tom Wright both filed requests to get $10 million for the project in the last legislative session, but weren’t successful.
Wright’s request, filed in February of 2025, said the headquarters would lead to cost savings by “consolidating various VSO office locations into a single centralized facility.”
It would also provide a “dry location” to respond to natural disasters and emergencies and “improve public accessibility for reporting crimes, seeking assistance, and attending community meetings.”
Volusia Sheriff Mike Chitwood said the building will house a backup to the county’s 911 system. Among other things, the building will also be a dedicated processing center for crime scene technology.
“We do fingerprints for every police department, basically, in the county,” Chitwood said.
If the state appropriation doesn’t come through, the county plans to use interest income from the bond proceeds, General Fund revenue and another bond issuance of $5 million.
A consultant estimated the project would cost $40 million, though the project ultimately came in under that amount, according to county spokesman Clayton Jackson.
“The County budgeted $30 million, as the Sheriff’s Office was applying and working toward a $10 million grant; they are continuing to work toward this grant,” according to Jackson.
What will the Volusia Sheriff’s Office facility look like?
The Sheriff’s Office headquarters will be on a nearly 16-acre site on North Woodland Boulevard in DeLand, near the Glenwood Road intersection and the DeLand Municipal Airport.
It will be a two-story building of at least 55,000 square feet with visitor parking and parking spaces for 500 Sheriff’s Office vehicles.
Chitwood said that the building was first estimated to cost $45 million. He said that it will have room to grow and will last for generations to come.
“One of the things that George (county manager) insisted on and the staff insisted on is this is going to be something that will outlive all of us,” Chitwood said.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Volusia County OKs $38.3M contract for new Sheriff’s Office headquarters
Reporting by Sheldon Gardner, Daytona Beach News-Journal / The Daytona Beach News-Journal
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