STEELE CREEK NEWS
City Purchases
Land for New Steele Creek Police Station
(January 30, 2011) In
December, the
City of Charlotte purchased 3 acres of land on the southwest
corner of Westinghouse Blvd and S Tryon St for a new station for the
Steele Creek Division of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police
Department.
Captain Allan
Rutledge, Steele Creek Division Commander, said "While in attendance
at community meetings, I consistently heard community members
request that the police station be located closer to the actual
Steele Creek area. We heard those requests."
The Steele Creek
Police Station construction is on the list of Capital Improvements
for next fiscal year. "If all goes smoothly, the city will begin
construction of the new station sometime around fall of 2011 and
occupy the building in late fall or winter of 2012," Captain
Rutledge said.
The Steele Creek
Division currently is located at the old Police Academy Building
behind the new Police and Fire Academy at the corner of Shopton Road
and Beam Road. This building is grossly inadequate to meet the needs
of the division and is located near the edge of the
division territory.
The new station
will be built at the former location of the Arrowood Restaurant.
(See
WikiMapia locator.) This key location in Steele Creek is
now vacant, and the new police station will be a great improvement
to the corner and an asset to the community. The new, centrally
located police station will make the police more visible in the
community. The current station is almost hidden from view. Having
the new station on a high-traffic corner will help residents
understand the local officers are part of the community and not just
driving in from some distant location.
Although the
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department is an agency of the City of
Charlotte, it also serves the unincorporated area of Mecklenburg
County, including all of Steele Creek. Most department funding comes
from city taxes and the Police Service District Tax, which are paid
by property owners in unincorporated Mecklenburg County.
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