After more than a decade of planning, Pinellas County is moving forward with a new North County Service Center designed to replace an aging facility officials say has struggled to meet residents’ needs for nearly 20 years.
The $51 million project will consolidate the offices of the Tax Collector, Clerk of the Circuit Court and Property Appraiser into a single, three-story, nearly 80,000-square-foot building in Clearwater. The campus will also include a three-level, 140,000-square-foot parking garage with 384 spaces and backup power to ensure county services remain operational during emergencies.
County commissioners were expected to consider a reimbursement resolution Tuesday that preserves the county’s ability to finance the project with future tax-exempt bonds. The vote would not authorize construction or issue debt.
While the project has been years in the making, demolition is already underway and construction is expected to begin in the coming weeks. Bill Greer, director of the county’s Construction and Property Management Department, said the facility is now anticipated to reach substantial completion in January 2028 – earlier than previous projections.
“The existing North County Service Center was built in 1978 and has been inadequate for meeting service demands for nearly two decades,” Greer told the Catalyst.
Planning for a replacement dates back to 2014, when county officials first began studying the idea of bringing the Tax Collector, Property Appraiser and Clerk of the Court together under one roof. Five years later, the county expanded that concept into its broader “One Stop Shop” strategy, designed to make government services easier to access by consolidating multiple constitutional offices in one location. The recently completed South County Service Center was the first example of that model.
Greer said the north county project remained on hold until funding became available through Penny for Pinellas IV, the county’s voter-approved infrastructure sales tax program.
“Those capital dollars are now available, enabling the project to move forward,” he said. “Beginning construction now helps avoid additional cost escalation.”
The existing service center no longer has enough space to house all of the county services residents use, forcing the county to lease additional office space nearby.
Greer said eliminating those leases accounts for most of the estimated $800,000 in annual savings once the new building opens.
“Renting has been a less efficient and more costly way to meet service demand,” he said. “By owning a properly sized and modern facility, the County reduces ongoing operating costs funded by annual property taxes while making better use of Penny for Pinellas sales tax revenues already dedicated to capital improvements.”
The project will also improve the customer experience by allowing residents to complete multiple government transactions in one stop instead of visiting separate offices, Greer said. “This significantly improves convenience and customer service.”
Plans also call for a central energy plant, emergency backup generators and a public-facing lobby designed around the county’s “One Stop Shop” concept.
The North County Service Center is one component of Pinellas County’s effort to relocate its government headquarters from downtown Clearwater to a new campus near U.S. 19 and Ulmerton Road. If construction stays on schedule, residents could begin using the new facility in 2028.
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