The City of Regina and the Regina Police Service announced on Friday that the former STC bus depot will be the new home for the Regina police headquarters.
“A new police headquarters is the City’s number one facility priority and this was an unexpected opportunity that we could not pass up,” said Mayor Michael Fougere.
“By utilizing this new building and the existing headquarters, we can provide RPS with a completely refurbished home for a significantly lower cost than to build a new headquarters.”
The province approved the city’s purchase of the STC building, along with two parking lots at a cost of $16.25 million. It’s expected an additional $21 million will be needed.
For police Chief Evan Bray, the new police headquarters will provide police with a functional and well-designed facility that will allow for effective delivery of services to the community.
“Our goal would be to begin moving personnel and using the space in 2019,” the Chief said at the announcement outside current police headquarters.
“The size, condition and location of the STC facility provides a unique opportunity to create a campus or compound that allows RPS to maintain a centralized location and satisfy our long-term facility needs.”
The Chief did acknowledge that the STC facility may not fully address the department overcrowding.
“I don’t know if it will quite fit them all, our space needs might exceed that a little bit,” Chief Bray said.
“But we do have existing space on this location, there’s a possibility of maybe an addition to this building. We’ve got the municipal justice building behind us and what we call the emergency services building that both offer an opportunity to maybe take those buildings down and build something in their space if we did need additional space.”
The city has also confirmed other parties were interested in getting involved, but the STC building was the best option.
“This is the model that made the most sense for the city, it made the most sense financially and it made the most sense for the police service,” City Manager Chris Holden said.
Regina current police headquarters was built in 1977 and is home to 575 employees, both sworn officers and civilian personnel. Changes in policing over the last four decades have resulted in significant overcrowding at the current headquarters.
The sale of the STC building to the city is pending council approval on November 27.
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