California Contruction News staff writer
The City of Santa Barbara held a groundbreaking event for a new police station in November at the former Cota Street Parking Lot. The new facility will serve as the department’s centralized headquarters.
City Council approved the $96 million construction contract to ProWest Constructors Inc.
Groundbreaking Ceremony speakers city administrator Kelly McAdoo, Mayor Randy Rowse, Police Chief Kelly Gordon, and ProWest Constructors executive vice-president Rick Fochtman, were joined by elected officials, community leaders, city staff, and project contractors to celebrate this momentous occasion. Speakers underscored the value of the new station and the enhanced features it brings to the community.
“This new building is really going to take our Police Department into the 21st century and beyond,” said city administrator Kelly McAdoo. “I’m very excited to be a part of this project…and to get this project across the finish line.”
The new police station, a collaboration between the city’s Public Works Department and SBPD, has been in the planning and design phase for over seven years. Construction of the new police station is scheduled to begin in January 2025 with an expected completion in Spring 2027.
“More than anything, this is going to provide the community with better access to their police department, which is really the biggest priority,” said Police Chief Kelly Gordan. “There is a lot of new technology and a whole lot of thought that has gone into this.”
The three-story, 65,000-square-foot building is designed to consolidate the entire police force, which currently operates from four separate locations. It will include a 911 public safety dispatch center, parking structure for department and personnel vehicles, forensics laboratory, community room, fitness center, training room, indoor shooting range, property and evidence room, and a large solar and battery array.
