Greater Sudbury Police's difficult road toward getting a suitable headquarters has taken another turn, with news police now are focused on a new, $65 million building.
That's a departure from a plan announced two years ago that called for $18.8 million renovation of their Brady Street location. City council balked at that idea, and police have worked with city staff to look at the numerous empty buildings the city owns to see if one could be converted into the new HQ, at a lower cost.
But police CAO Sharon Baiden said this week further study has led them to conclude that renovating an old building that wasn't built for police doesn't make sense in the long run and would only delay the need for a headquarters designed for the needs of police.
“Renovation really isn't something that's going to work — it won't meet our needs,” Baiden said. “What we are continuing to look at really is what a new, special purpose build of a police facility would look like and we do continue to examine our options in that area.”
The current HQ was converted from government offices in the 1990s. That has led to a number of long-term issues and conflicts. For example, suspects, victims and even the media all ride in the same elevator. The only public meeting space is on the fifth floor, meaning anyone who attends has to be escorted from the main lobby and back again. There's no room for training, and much of that has to be done off site.
Mould is a growing issue, forcing staff to relocate while the problems are addressed, then move back again when it's cleaned up, until another problem is found. KPMG reviewed police operations as a whole in 2016 and concluded that a new or renovated building was the most pressing need for city police.
A new building would service police for the next 50 years, while the renovation would last a maximum of 20. A financial plan is already in place, with police already setting aside $900,000 a year to pay the mortgage.
“We've looked at a number of (city owned) buildings that are available or could be available, but the reality is that they are old buildings,” Baiden said. “They do require a lot of infrastructure upgrading in order to meet our needs and retrofitting old buildings for the purpose of a special built facility just doesn't seem to be the way for us to go.”
Mayor Brian Bigger said it makes sense for police to focus on a new building, rather than spending a similar amount on renovations of a headquarters that doesn't work.
“The last time the building was renovated was about 20 years ago, so if you renovate, you get a 20-year life and then you need to renovate again – or make this decision,” Bigger said. “A new build would serve the purposes of police and would actually have a longer useful life before major renovations are required.”
While the pricetag for a new building is large, he said police plan to stretch the cost of a new building over a longer period, so the impact on budgets would be mitigated.
“And if they move into a new police building, it makes (the current HQ) building available,” he said. “So you need to take the availability of this building into consideration, as well, so you can centralize a bit more, maybe close other buildings.”
No decision has been made for when police hope to get started on the project, and no timelines for constuction or completion have been established.
