A staff report says it will cost the City of Peterborough $40 million to both renovate a former church into a second police station and upgrade the existing downtown station.
In December 2023, the city announced it had purchased the west-end Calvary Pentecostal Church building at $15 million to be used as a second police station to complement the existing aging and cramped downtown station on Water Street. The purchase deal was finalized in February.
Police say the second station on Lansdowne Street West will be used for administrative functions, while police operations will continue downtown.
A city staff report going to city council on Monday night recommends council appoint Kingston architectural company Shoalts and Zahack Architects at $3.2 million to design the renovations for the new second station and the existing station.
The city notes the $3.2-million price tag proposed by the consultant is eight per cent based on an estimated construction cost of $40 million for both stations. The company, approved by staff via a tender process, has previous experience designing police stations, including the Kingston police headquarters. The firm also reviewed the Water Street station five years ago.
Renovations are expected to take several years.
“The fee includes the services of a team of associated sub-consultants, including civil, structural, mechanical, electrical, landscape, quantity surveyor, security access controls specialist and code compliance,” says Richard Freymond, the city’s commissioner of finance and corporate support service.
The police service has long been advocating for a new police station to replace the building that opened in 1968. The city had conducted previous studies for a new location, with the estimated price for a new station jumping from $47 million in 2019 to $68 million just two years later.
Police Chief Stuart Betts chaired a joint police service-city facilities review committee that explored options for a new building but found none that were “suitable, financially feasible nor able to meet the needs of the service,” the report states.
The committee was made aware of the church building being up for sale and the committee recommended the city approve the purchase for a two-site solution.
Betts says the 106,000-square-foot Calvary Pentecostal Church is a “fiscally responsible solution” that could support the police service for decades. In December he also said the building could also allow for police training for other services and the Ontario Police College.
Betts has also highlighted issues with the Water Street station, including a lack of space (staff using closets as offices, for example), accessibility issues and outdated holding cells.
More to come.