Media got a first-hand look at what a $40-million cop shop looks like, as reporters were invited to tour the new Kelowna RCMP detachment.
Construction of the three-storey building broke ground last September and is on track to be open in June.
The building is almost complete with the finishing touches set to be done within the month. Keys will be handed over to the RCMP March 24.
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The driving force behind the multi-million dollar build is to amalgamate almost all Kelowna RCMP services into one location and give officers and support staff more space, which they, say is desperately needed.
“We were working on top of one another, sharing desks. To get the functionality of police work we needed to expand our building,” RCMP building coordinator Kerry Solinsky said.
About 380 RCMP members and support staff will work in the building. Along with lots of office space, it will house traffic services, a 29-cell prison area and a forensics lab.
“We have features in here we should have been using in the past that we’re able to use now,” Solinsky said. “The new building allows us to keep up with new technology and new ways of investigation.
The RCMP remained silent on specifics. Cameras weren’t allowed to capture anything other than what will be public domain when the building opens.
“It’s a high-security zone. We don’t want any photos of any security areas going out to the public,” Solinsky said.
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The city is standing by the building’s $40-million price tag.
“This isn’t a typical residential or commercial building,” Andrew Gibbs with the City of Kelowna said. “Security is involved, data is involved, so that’s the cost.”
While the building itself cost $40-million, the total project tallied $48-million.
RCMP and the city say the detachment is built for the future, with expansion in mind. It is forecast to fill the RCMP’s needs for at least the next 50 years.
The new building will be more than double the size of the existing downtown detachment.
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