Editor's note: This news release is slightly edited (with no change in meaning and no information left out):
George Reilly, chairman of the Darien Police Headquarters Building Committee, announced that the building project is complete.
The project began in September 2006 when a Space Needs Report was presented to the Board of Selectmen. The report showed the need for additional prisoner detention, training, office, locker, vehicle maintenance and evidence storage space.
The space was required on top of upgrades to the communication system and repairs to the aging building. The $17.68 million project was approved by the RTM in April, 2008.
The building project was put on hiatus along with other town capital projects in the fall of 2008 given the economic environment. In the fall of 2010 the Board of Selectmen authorized moving forward with the project. Construction began in February 2011 and was completed on time in July 2012.
The new building includes an indoor shooting range, a 4-bay vehicle maintenance garage, a fitness facility and a training room which also serves as the town’s Emergency Operations Center. Prisoner and evidence processing spaces have been upgraded.
According to Reilly, reported that the Building Committee expects to expend about $1,050,000 less than authorized as a result of the benefit of the construction hiatus and careful management of the contingency budget.
Reilly said that the Building Committee was very pleased with the services of Jacunski Humes Architects as well as the staff of Turner Construction, the project’s construction manager.
The Building Committee was very complimentary of Police Chief Duane Lovello, Reilly said. He said Lovello worked closely with the architect and construction manager in assuring that appropriate details for the benefit of the department were included in the project.
The Police Department will hold an Open House next spring when the public will be invited to visit the facility.
