What began as a $10.8 million purchase of an aging downtown Stockton office building has ballooned into a $73.5 million renovation nightmare for the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors, and officials worry there could be even more expenses.
In addition to the initial outlay of $24.5 million to convert the building into a new headquarters for the District Attorney’s Office, two rounds of overruns have added an additional $34 million to the project.
But that still hasn’t been enough to finish the building. On Tuesday, the board added $15 million more.
Stocktonia investigation: New City Hall contracts cost more than $40 million. Then they kept growing
The county’s General Services Department admitted to early poor planning, and it couldn’t rule out the possibility that its latest total will not be enough to complete the project.
The board’s action comes one day after a Stocktonia investigation revealed distressing building cost overruns and delays plaguing a new Stockton City Hall. The City Council has voted nine times to increase outlays to convert an office building in the so-called New City Hall. Thanks to a little-known bureaucratic rule, staff was actually able to boost costs 33 times. The planned $44.5 million tab for converting the building under three contracts hit $62 million as of last spring.
On the county side, supervisors expressed anger and frustration in having to deal with their own taxpayer money sinkhole.
The county shouldn’t “put another damn dime into this building,” Supervisor Steven Ding said. He called the project “a boondoggle,” noting how far costs have now outstretched the estimated value of the structure. He was the lone dissenter in a 4-1 vote to add $15 million to the project. Instead, he called for halting work to assess the status of the endeavor.
Supervisor Robert Rickman hinted that heads will roll if the county’s building agency returns for another increase. He called for procedural changes to guard against such overruns in the future.
But even as the supervisors gnashed their teeth over the latest expenditure, they acknowledged that the project is so far along, they have little choice but to pass the latest allocation.
“If we don’t approve this item, it will be a bigger problem,” Supervisor Sonny Dhaliwal warned. “We need to learn and make sure these things are not going to be repeated.”
The board in 2021 authorized purchase of the multistory office building at 6 S. El Dorado St. and its adjoining parking structure. In 2023, the supervisors approved a five-year, $425 million capital improvement plan that included rehabbing the building, a former In-Shape gym.
After an extensive remodel, the work was expected to come in on budget and be completed by spring 2026. But an increase of $15.5 million was added in June 2024 and $18.5 million more six months later.
The project scope has been plagued by the need to fix failing “critical systems,” such as the heating and air conditioning, water and fire safety enhancements. New interior walls already installed have had to be reopened to unclog a plugged sewer system. Windows are having to be resealed, said Shelly Theis, the county’s capital projects administrator.
She and General Services Director Dan Wertz pointed to decisions made under past supervisors that resulted in two different project management methods, which drove up costs. The combination caused “a ripple effect resulting in additional increases for both construction costs and schedule delays,” their briefing note to the board states.
Under pressure from the board, Theis vowed to negotiate with contractors to save time and money using strategies she learned at the California Department of Transportation before joining the county.
The added expenses come as San Joaquin County faces an aggressive building timeline, including new quarters for the Medical Examiner’s office at the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office complex in French Camp and a new jail. Supervisors and other county officials already put their signatures on the coroner’s office — literally. In February, they signed their names to beams that will be part of the new facility.
On Wednesday, the county breaks ground on a $261 million behavioral health campus called SJ Be Well. The facility, on 23 acres in French Camp near San Joaquin General Hospital, will be the first in the region to consolidate psychiatric health and substance use treatment under one roof, according to the county.