Long Beach City Council has signed off on a major move for the city’s forensics operation, voting this week to shift the police crime lab into a downtown office tower and out of a cramped, leased warehouse in West Long Beach. City leaders say the plan will expand evidence processing, open up room for future forensic services and cut long-term rental costs, all while speeding up how quickly tests can be run in-house.
The approval bundled a construction contract, tenant improvements and a funding package into a single agenda item at the council’s regular meeting. Elected officials pitched the deal as part public-safety upgrade, part cost-control strategy, arguing that consolidating lab and administrative space downtown should make operations more efficient. The move follows years of planning and earlier property purchases meant to reduce the city’s dependence on leased facilities.
What the new lab will include
Plans call for the third floor of 125 Elm Ave to be reworked into a full-service crime lab, with evidence processing rooms, secure storage, multiple laboratory spaces and staff offices, plus an area reserved for a future DNA lab, according to the City of Long Beach. The renovation package includes upgraded electrical and plumbing systems, new interior partitions and ceiling work so the floor can meet modern laboratory standards. City materials say the larger footprint should let the Long Beach Police Department handle more testing on its own and cut down the time it takes to move investigations through the system.
Price tag and procurement
The construction contract and related costs bring the total project budget to about $19.8 million, with council members approving the contractor award and the necessary authorizations, according to reporting by the Long Beach Post. Procurement records for R-7254 (LBPD Crime Laboratory TI) show the work went through an open bid and that a notice of intent to award was posted on the city’s purchasing portal (city purchasing portal).
On top of that, the council backed a move to buy the department’s existing leased warehouse so the city can avoid rising month-to-month rent and expensive move-out requirements. Reporting indicates the current lease at 1400 Canal Ave has been running at roughly $28,966 a month, and the council approved a roughly $6.4 million purchase to settle the tenancy and take control of the property.
Funding and timeline
City officials plan to cover much of the downtown buildout with a mix of bond financing and existing capital funds, and they have laid out projected debt service for the borrowing that would be required. The financial presentation links project cash and future debt to the city’s Capital Projects Fund and a planned bond issuance. Public Works staff say tenant improvements will be sequenced so that operations are protected while the new space is retrofitted.
Why the city acted now
For years, officials have been weighing how to give the crime lab a permanent home while the department operated out of the West Long Beach warehouse. City records show that lease was set to expire on April 30, 2026, which gave the council a firm deadline. The purchase of the Elm Avenue building in 2022 set the stage: it was approved as a multi-use site that would house a senior center, energy department offices and the eventual crime lab, and earlier council materials outlined the tenant improvement needs and funding strategy for that mix of uses…