COEUR d’ALENE — The city of Coeur d’Alene jumped on a “once in a lifetime opportunity” and will spend nearly $1.2 million on a piece of land for expansion of the police department.

“The value of this property is remarkable to the city,” said City Administrator Troy Tymesen during Tuesday’s City Council meeting.

The council unanimously agreed to the purchase with ETD Enterprises, LLC for 1.6 acres just north of the police station on Schreiber Way.

Buying the vacant land will allow the police department to remain as a single facility without the need for two separate sites, a city report said.

“If we don't get this piece of property and have to expand, it's not going to be next door to the police department,” said City Attorney Randy Adams. “It's going to be someplace else. So this is very much a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

The City Council previously approved spending $4.5 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds for the expansion and remodeling project, which is needed due to lack of workspace.

The maximum occupancy of the locker room is often exceeded and offices are filled. The agency wants to increase the size of its training room and could use more parking, as well.

The police department has nearly 100 sworn officers and about 15 civilian positions.

The department has already negotiated a contract with CORE West, Inc., a national firm that specializes in public safety buildings, to act as general contractor for the project.

It is finalizing a contract with an architectural firm, Castlellaw + KOM and Treanorhl, to design the project.

Talks have been underway with the owner of the parcel for months.

According to a city report, the purchase price of $1,186,532 for the land “is reasonable considering the size and location."

Adams said an appraisal is not necessary, but “some evidence of the reasonableness of the price has to be provided.”

He said the city has looked at other properties and talked to appraisers before making its latest offer.

“The price is in the range of what we were seeing,” he said.

The police department had budget savings in the last fiscal year due to open positions, Adams said. Those savings, per policy, were rolled over into fund balance for this fiscal year and will be used to buy the property.

Tymesen said the city has tried for years to acquire that particular property adjacent to the police station.

“This mayor and previous mayors have written purchase offers on it and never gotten it to the finish line, due to no fault of the city in my opinion,” he said.

Councilwoman Christie Wood, who retired as a sergeant from the Coeur d'Alene Police Department in 2015 after 26 years of service, said the expansion is projected to meet police needs for about 30 years.

“That's just something that we can't put a price on,” she said. “We have to be able to grow, long after we're all gone.”