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New Police Station to be Accessible and Environmentally Friendly
(March 10, 2011) Captain Allan Rutledge, Steele Creek Division Commander, and the building project manager and architectural team presented plans for the new division police station at a community meeting this week. The new station will be on the southwest corner of South Tryon Street and Westinghouse Boulevard in the heart of Steele Creek. The brick and polished concrete building will be at the northeast corner of the lot, facing the intersection. Gated staff parking will be behind the building and a 26-space visitor parking lot will be on the left side, The rendering above shows how the building will look, except that public art will be added to the front. The community will have the opportunity to have input on the choice of an artist and the design. The intent is to have a piece of art that reflects the history and character of the community. Captain Rutledge expects the new station to be a catalyst for development in the area. They plan to be a good neighbor. Having the station on the corner near the streets will make it more visible and accessible to the community. The current division office is located in the old Police Academy Building off Shopton Road between South Tryon Street and Beam Road. It is hidden back from the road and surrounded by a security fence. Most Steele Creek residents probably do not know that it is back there. The new station will be prominently located on one of the busiest intersections in Steele Creek. People will know that the local police are part of the community and do not drive in from some outside location. The new site is more centrally located in the 62 square mile division and will make it easier for officers to get to the far southern edges of Steele Creek quickly, but it is more distant from the areas in the northeast part of the division where most of the calls come from. At some point in the future, police divisions will be reorganized and the northeastern part of the division likely will be removed from the division.
As currently designed, the building will qualify for a Leadership and Energy Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating of Silver, but the designers hope to achieve a Gold rating. It will have spots reserved for solar panels, underground geothermal wells for heat exchange in the heating and cooling system, and other sustainable features. The site will feature new trees along the street and screening trees around the parking areas. A small tree save area is located in the back corner of the site. Many of the trees selected to be planted on the site will be maples or other types that will eventually be large mature trees. The building will be just under 12,500 square feet. The floor plan will be similar to that of other stations that have opened in Charlotte recently. It will feature a lobby and other public areas, a fitness room, men's and women's locker rooms, a roll call room, various offices, and bull pen areas with officers' work space. The project also includes a canopy, listed as an alternate in the design package, along the back of the building for shift changes. The site plan makes use of the entire 3-acre site with the building, parking, buffers and other landscaping, and other features.
The anticipated building cost is $3.3 million, and the total cost of the project will be $7 million, which includes the building and site design, land purchase, construction cost, and other professional services. The building is expected to go out for bids in May. The construction contract is expected to go before City Council for approval on July 25, and construction should start approximately 30 days after that. The building should be ready for the Steele Creek Division to move in around Fall 2012.
For more information
on this project, contact: Kathleen Drake Engineering and
Property Management Project Manager at 704-432-5214 or
kdrake@charlottenc.gov To comment on this story please visit the Steele Creek Forum. |
