The $16 million Arcadia Police Station building, built with bond money and city and CRA funds, is on target for completion in July. WWM Associates designed the building. Mallcraft of Altadena is the contractor and Construction Control Group is the manager of the project. The station is the first civic project constructed with bond funding.
The Arcadia Police Department has moved to a new police station building at 250 W. Huntington Drive, Arcadia, CA, 91007, that is 42,000 square feet and cost $16 million. The official opening ceremony will be October 3, 2003. The old building that was built around 1956 will be demolished in a few weeks. Dispatchers Rosemarie Espejo and Carol Hunter are shown in a photo.
At a brief ceremony in front of the Arcadia Police Station city officials unveiled a brass plaque dedicating the police building to the late Police Chief, Charles Mitchell.
"Blind Justice," an 11-foot tall tile mural at the police station dating back to the 1950s, will not be preserved when the new police station is built. The mural was judged not to have significant artistic or historical merit. The mural will be archived, with some element maintained for display in the new building.
Citizens Organized for Police Station (COPS) was formed to educate residents and gain their support for the bond issue needed to finance a new police station. Santa Anita Park has donated $30,000 to the newly formed organization.
City Council members objected to the time it will take to complete plans for a new police station (7 months), but nevertheless approved a design agreement with the architect, Wendell Mounce and Associates.
The City Council took the first step toward placing a bond issue of up to $8 million on the ballot for the November 2 election. The bond is needed for building a new police station.
Community donations are being sought to help defray the cost of a bronze statue that will be installed in front of the new Arcadia Police Station. David Chapple, an Irvine sculptor and painter who graduated from Arcadia High School in 1965, will create the $50,000 art work for the city.
Construction has started on the expansion of the Westfield Shoppingtown Santa Anita. There will be two parking structures to replace current surface parking, 104,400 square feet of retail space, 18,400 square feet of restaurants, a 7,800 square foot food court, 45,000 square feet of specialty stores, 54,300 square feet of movie theaters, and a 5,400 square foot auto center. The tenant list includes an AMC theater, Borders bookstore, and a Sports Chalet. The expansion is scheduled to be completed September 2004. City manager Bill Kelly said Arcadia will proceed to expand Fire Station 105 to serve as the new fire department headquarters and will rebuild Station 106. The city is considering building a new City Hall and youth center from city revenues from Santa Anita Park. The new police station, the first city facility partly financed through bonds, will be open this fall. A $1/2 million project to remodel City Council Chambers is finally complete, with the opening of the council conference room.
Five months after police officers moved into their new $16 million police station, the City Council will officially accept the construction contractor's work and sign off on the project.