Construction begins $40M police HQ expansion in Carmel
Construction is set to begin for a $40 million expansion of the Carmel’s police headquarters, which will triple the space at the station and include the city court.
The Carmel Municipal Facilities Building Corporation bought Huntington Bank property at 998 S.Rangeline Road to build a three-story addition east of the current headquarters, which will be renovated. The new space will include lockers, training areas and more rooms for staff, said Police Chief James Barlow.
City officials hosted a groundbreaking for the new building at 2 p.m. Thursday.
The police force has outgrown its current space at Civic Square next to City Hall, which opened in September 1990, when the population of Carmel was about 25,000 and it had 49 officers. Nearly 100,000 people live in the city now and the number of officers has increased proportionally, to more than 130.
More on the Carmel Police headquartersCarmel police station expansion planned to ease overcrowded HQ
Barlow said some police employees currently work elsewhere and the new building will have enough office space room to bring everyone under one roof.
The addition also will include a new third floor courtroom for Judge Brian Poindexter, which will be large enough to serve as a county courtroom.
Hamilton County officials have considered opening a satellite courtroom when they expand the Government and Judicial Center in Noblesville. A magistrate and superior court judge have been added and officials will need more space for them.
Because county courts hear more serious crimes than city courts, the new building will have a sally port where sheriff’s prisoner transport vans can safely pull in away from the public entrance and take defendants to court. It also will have a holding cell where they can wait until their case is called.
“The prisoner transport vehicle will be able to park in a secure area,” Barlow said in an email. “Prisoners will then be transported to the courtroom on a dedicated elevator to a secure area outside the courtroom.”
Barlow said the headquarters will include several upgrades, including:
∎ Expanded and modernized investigations an crime scene processing area.
∎ Larger training rooms for classes and defensive tactics.
∎ An indoor vehicle and equipment storage areas.
∎ A larger patrol division rollcall area.
∎ Technology updates throughout the building.
∎ A larger fitness and rehab area.
Call IndyStar reporter John Tuohy at 317-444-6418. Email at john.tuohy@indystar.com and follow on Twitter @john_tuohy.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Carmel Police HQ: Construction begins on $40 million expansion project
