It's no new news that the Seattle Police Department North Precinct Station has been outgrown. The current, 15,000 sq. ft. station was built in 1984 -- long before the booming days of Ballard -- and was meant to house 154 staff.
It's now home to 254 staff.
The proposed station is located at Aurora Ave N and N 130th St and is expected to be approximately 6,000 sq. ft. It would be able to accommodate up to 370 officers and civilian staff (which means room to grow), with on-site multistory parking for patrol cars, visitors and staff. It will also offer a community meeting space and public art. The building is expected to have a useful life of 30 to 50 years.
"Being on the corner of major arterials with good access to I-5, and offering enough space to build a station that will meet our needs for decades to come - this site offers the best location for the Seattle Police Department's north-end operations," said Interim Chief of Police Jim Pugel.
The property that SPD is scoping sits on two parcels of land: one currently occupied by a used car dealership, the other partially vacant with an older office building, warehouse and ancillary buildings. FAS will provide relocation assistance for displaced owners and tenants.
The site would be a little bit further away from Ballard. The proposed station sits near the very north part of the North Precinct, about one-and-one-half miles north of the current station.
The need for a new site was first identified in a 1998 program study of SPD's Master Plan and further supported in a 2002 feasibility study. But momentum to build a new station didn't mount until just last year, when the City Council directed the Department of Finance and Administrative Services to accelerate the project to site, design and build a new police station for Seattle's north end. The goal is to acquire a site by early 2014 and open the new station in late 2018.
FAS' 2013-2014 budget includes $18.3 million to pay for site selection, due diligence and land acquisition for a new facility. Because the site itself impacts design and construction costs, the city does not yet have a firm estimate for what it will cost to build this new facility and a funding source beyond 2014 will be identified in the 2015/2016 budget process. Spending in 2013 and 2014 is covered largely by long-term general obligation bonds.
On Saturday, Oct. 26, the city will host a community open house to provide more information on the site selection process, how the site meets SPD's operational needs, the development schedule, and future opportunities for public comment. The open house will be from 10 a.m. to noon at the Bitter Lake Community Center gym, 13035 Linden Ave N.
For more info, visit http://www.seattle.gov/northprecinctstation
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