New police, fire HQ could cost $38 million

GREEN BAY - Mayor Jim Schmitt said he has three possible downtown locations in mind for a new flagship public safety building that could cost as much as $38 million.

The locations, which include one owned by the city and two privately owned lots, may be the subject of a closed door City Council meeting as early as next week.

Schmitt acknowledged the sites during a presentation on the results of a public safety spatial needs assessment for the Council's finance committee Tuesday.

Bray Architects, which conducted the assessment, recommended the city pursue a combined police and fire department headquarters facility.

Michael Hacker, of Bray, said the new building would be 135,000 square feet in size and include training rooms, public meeting spaces, a shooting range and other amenities found in state-of-the-art public safety buildings.

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Hacker also recommended the new building include enough space for 328 parking stalls and an additional 21,000-square-foot, off-site evidence storage facility.

The main building would cost between $34 million and $38 million, and the evidence storage would cost another $5.8 million to $6.4 million, assuming construction occurs within the next two years, Hacker said.

Those costs do not include site acquisition and demolition, relocation fees, communications towers and loose technology items, such as projectors.

Schmitt said the building would be a landmark that attracts public attention and helps in recruiting new officers and firefighters.

"The building is going to have a statement to it, and I feel that's important," Schmitt said.

The Green Bay Police Department has outgrown its existing facility on Adams Street. It was built in 1969 when the department had 136 officers. A second-floor expansion was completed in 1993 to bring the building to 66,000 square feet with another 5,800 square feet of garage space. Today, the department has 192 sworn officers and 41 civilian employees who take up every bit of space that evidence storage hasn’t claimed.

The Green Bay Metro Fire Department's administrative offices would also be moved into the proposed new public safety building. They're currently located in Fire Station No. 1 at 501 S. Washington St. The 5,000 square-foot building was constructed in 1929 and renovated in 1983.

Merging the two agencies into one building would allow them to use space more efficiently and make it easier for Green Bay residents to find them, Hacker said.

City Council President Tom DeWane said the suggested facility upgrades are needed.

"I want to make sure if we do this that it will be top notch, that we have the Taj Mahal, so that when these guys come to work they really have what they need," De Wane said.

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