I too would hate if they tore it down!! I love the exterior, even though it is rather plain, but the inside is horrid. The offices are falling apart and run down.
I like how the whole block is like a Police Plaza though. You have HQ, the lab, the academy and the communications building all right there. I just wish parking would be better for us.
FloPoErich wrote:I too would hate if they tore it down!! I love the exterior, even though it is rather plain, but the inside is horrid. The offices are falling apart and run down.
I like how the whole block is like a Police Plaza though. You have HQ, the lab, the academy and the communications building all right there. I just wish parking would be better for us.
Maybe they could knock the building down for a parking lot!
Word going around is that HQ would cost around $55 Million to renovate and make safe. There is a large building on the NE Corner of 20th and Olive that was recently offered to the department for only $8 million.
FloPoErich wrote:I too would hate if they tore it down!! I love the exterior, even though it is rather plain, but the inside is horrid. The offices are falling apart and run down.
I like how the whole block is like a Police Plaza though. You have HQ, the lab, the academy and the communications building all right there. I just wish parking would be better for us.
But won't the new parking garage at Tucker/Clark help out a lot?
FloPoErich wrote:Word going around is that HQ would cost around $55 Million to renovate and make safe. There is a large building on the NE Corner of 20th and Olive that was recently offered to the department for only $8 million.
Really? I actually suggested that building in my blog.
Wouldn't this building be prime for redevelopment? It has great accessibility to the multimodal station and the tucker bridge south, it's proximity to 40/64 would be prime for signage and proximity to the access ramps are prime and parking should be a plenty. I would also like to see more excitement surrounding the areas southeast of the Scottrade Center.
To a civilian, it would seem to make sense maintaining the Police "Super Block", but in real practice, how important is it to have all the various departments in one location? In your opinion, would it have any effect on efficiency to relocate the headquarters elsewhere? Wouldn't the department think long and hard about breaking up the team?
Framer wrote:Wouldn't the department think long and hard about breaking up the team?
Isom has already "decentralized" the department. When my roommate was in the Academy, there was an uproar from many ranks that were forced to move out of HQ and set up offices in every district. It does not seem like moving the HQ will be a burden to anyone, except the officers who work at HQ and teach in the academy next door.
A good reason to move the Police Headquarters would be to expand the academy into the former HQ building. I believe they wanted to expand, unless they scrapped that idea...have not heard anything in a while.
FloPoErich wrote:Word going around is that HQ would cost around $55 Million to renovate and make safe. There is a large building on the NE Corner of 20th and Olive that was recently offered to the department for only $8 million.
And why didn't the city/police take the offer for that old AG Edwards building?
FloPoErich wrote:Word going around is that HQ would cost around $55 Million to renovate and make safe. There is a large building on the NE Corner of 20th and Olive that was recently offered to the department for only $8 million.
And why didn't the city/police take the offer for that old AG Edwards building?
Because it was on the market a year ago for under 5 mil.
The chance for a needed new skyscraper. Hell yeah, this should have all our support.
Focus: StL's Finest need more than just a random unoccupied office building in the Downtown area to really be effective. They need massive specialized infrastructure and concentrated, centralized operations to share cross-competencies between divisions. The needs for effective policing are at the heart of any great city, as one which can't regulate its criminal activities is doomed to fail. Whatever is needed should be supported.
As well, StL City needs the best cops, more than any other city in the Metro Area (save the near East Side, which should really be patrolled by the IL National Guard, locked and loaded with armor). It's hard enough to get cops to want to work StL City beats, doing real police work at a standard wage, versus working in a sleepy suburb, writing tickets for speeding and the occasional robbery, versus daily gang fights and violent felonies. If you were a cop with children, and you had to have them in City schools as part of your residency mandate, you'd so much look to working in the Chesterfield Valley.
A great police building could also include top-of-the-line training programs, from a gym to rival the best private facilities to a top-notch armory and specialized vehicle garage, compounding the newly improved jail and forensics laboratory. Having such a building supported by the City would ensure better policing for us all.
That, and a fixed pension plan. Which is in more dire need, I don’t want to know.
This is excellent news for the police department and bodes very well for the ability of Saint Louis' Finest to continue its progress. Plus, it fills out another functional building now sitting vacant.
Who knows what'll happen to its current HQ at Clark & Tucker, but I bet it'll stay under the control of the StLPD. The new Crime Labs are to remain based along there, and the article didn't mention if the adjacent Police Academy would be moving as well. Having multiple buildings out of which to do their work could be quite beneficial, especially noting the footprint of the current cluster of buildings now held.
Hooray for St. Louis' finest....Given that the new building has a bit less square footage and that the old building will still be next located next to Police Dept. operations, maybe the old space will actually still be needed and/or could be exploited for additional PD use.
Living on 17th, let me selfishly say I'm estatic about the move. Every single time I'd go by that building, I'd simply wonder how such a clearly amazing space for a business (underground parking, regal design, and obvious recent vintage) is sitting vacant. That the space is going to our Police Dept. makes me very happy. Maybe there will even be an overall moral boost to having such a first class building. That the space is paid for by destructive, criminal idiots makes me even happier. That the PD chose to stay within the immediate downtown grid makes me happiest. lol I can't wait to see the flags flying out front of the building on Olive.
My friends and I always swore that building was styled like it was built to be some kind of government section / police facility. I think it will make for a very attractive headquarters if the throw some signage on it that has the right style. I am excited, it should make that region more acceptable for new development.
Also, with as heavily as that building appears to be built, it wouldn't surprise me if it was possible to add some more floors on the top of it for later expansion. If the company that built it originally did not plan for that possibility, I would be surprised.
Count, I dont believe any of the info you posted is new. It was first reported that renovation would take 12-18 months, so the November date more than likely wont happen. Also, $3M renovation for a building thats 145k sq ft doesnt make sense either; thats $20 per sq ft. No way a new police station can get renovated at $20/sqft.
Unfortunately, our citys budget is out of whack, so when and how this renovation will happen is still unknown.
