City to construct new police HQ, repurpose current station

With the Maricopa Police Department already outgrowing its headquarters in the city center, the city will build a larger facility adjacent to the new Pinal County Courthouse complex.

The current 8,000-square-foot building, just south of city hall off White and Parker Road, opened in 2013. The new, two-story headquarters will be about 20,000 square feet and built for future expansion. The multi-million dollar facility is expected to open in the next year or so, according to city manager Rick Horst.

Much like the new library nearing completion next to the current headquarters, construction of the new station will include plumbing and electrical work to be ready for expansion. The new police building will not initially include space for Police Dispatch; that would be part of a future phase. According to Horst, Dispatch costs “a chunk of change,” so it will remain in its current location for now.

“We’re growing and it was never really what the city needed to begin with,” Horst said of the current station. “We’re talking about two stories because from a safety point of view you want different levels (to separate the jail from other operations). This building will add to the feel of that whole area, with Sprouts, the complex, our new fire administration building, we’ve got a couple of other projects coming out there now, plus Estrella Gin.”

The area will connect to the Heritage District and South Bridge areas via a greenbelt and walking area with shade trees and other foliage, making for a pedestrian corridor.

The current police station will be redesigned and repurposed. It is likely some staffers would move over from city hall, Horst told city council at a recent Future Planning session. One possible use is an arts center that might include an art gallery, exhibit areas, music practice rooms, a recital space and classrooms – and perhaps a kiln for pottery classes.

“Is it our future art museum – no, that’s way down the road,” said Horst. “But does this give us a baby step to the next thing? Does this give us some opportunity? I think it does.”

Budget-wise, Horst said police facilities are expensive to build – about $400 per square foot. He projected costs of about $1 million to design the new facility, another $1 million for the redesign of the old station and about $8 million for total construction costs. Funding for the projects would be included in the city’s 2021-2022 FY budget coming in July.

The design of the new building and redesign of the current station will take six to eight months, Horst said, a pattern similar to the new library. “And just like the new library is creating an opportunity for our veterans and seniors to move into the old library, this would do the same for our artistic community,” he said.

He indicated fire and police infrastructure was inadequate, but the completion of the new fire administration building, and the new police station, will get the city close to where it should be, he said.

“Now we need to start thinking about how we’re going to meet the needs when we start to grow out south of the tracks and east.”