Due to the deteriorating state of many municipal buildings in Corvallis, the City has devised a strategy to make significant upgrades.

The City of Corvallis has laid out a roadmap for upgrading these buildings moving forward.

According to the Citywide Facilities Strategy project summary, the City of Corvallis has an average portfolio rating of 2.58 currently, a measure of the city’s building standards. This puts the city on the lower end of the scale, as 47% of Corvallis buildings have outlived their average lifespan.

The Citywide Facilities Strategy states that $225 million is predicted to be spent on the project.

Currently, one fire station has finished renovation, with another fire station scheduled for remodel shortly.

“These two buildings lack interior accommodations that have become standard in the fire industry, such as single occupancy dorm rooms, gender-specific restrooms and locker rooms,” Patrick Rollens, the Corvallis public information officer, said. “These fire stations were constructed at a time when most fire departments were composed exclusively of men, so they don’t have suitable facilities for all genders. Both stations also lack sufficient indoor vehicle storage bays, which means some high-value fire rigs are parked outdoors, exposed to the elements at various points throughout the year.”

Alongside the remodeling of the fire station, Circle Boulevard is approved for reconstruction. 

Although these projects affect buildings that house public safety officials, Rollens said that public safety should not be affected because the staff of these locations will be moved to a new office while construction is happening.

To pay for all the projects, the city plans to use debt, new revenue and a “pay as you go” model to fund the projects.

Since the city currently has no debt, Rollens explains that now would be the ideal moment for the city to borrow money to fund these projects. This will be the main way that the City plans to pay for all the projects.

According to the Citywide Facilities Strategy, some of the new revenue from the city will be coming from the government. This money won’t have to be paid back.

The “pay as you go” model is a system where the government uses existing annual revenue to pay for new projects.

“Because the City has not focused on its facility needs, funds have not been set aside to address the needs we have,” Rollens said. “It is a model we’re trying to break out of.  Given the situation we are in, we will need to issue debt to fund the facility improvements.” 

Four other projects are under review at this time. These projects include a Civic Campus and Administrative Building, the Corvallis Police Station, Parks and Recreation Maintenance Facility and another fire station. 

Rollens hopes that these projects will start the design phase by the first half of 2024.

“I want to emphasize that this project is going to involve a series of long-term community decisions spanning many years,” Rollens said. “It’s a big job, and it’s important to get it right so that these new facility investments can meet the community’s needs for many years to come.”