The former police space will be used for the city’s growing administrative staff, said City Manager Bill Brock.
“We love it,” Buchanan said. “We have the space to grow.”
The chief said Monroe has 36 officers and has room to increase its workforce to 50 if the city continues to grow as it has since the police station was built in 1999.
In the last 20 years, Monroe’s population has more than doubled, from 7,133 in 2000 to 14,307 in 2020, according to the latest census and the area east of I-75 has exploded with the openings of the Cincinnati Premium Outlets, Miami Valley Gaming and numerous hotels and restaurants.
The city spent $1.9 million to purchase the former IGA grocery and strip center and awarded a $49,000 contract to Cincinnati-based KZF Design to provide schematic design services for the project.
Renovating the building cost about $6 million and another $250,000 was spent on furnishings, Buchanan said.
Those expenses will be paid through revenues from the income tax levy that was approved by voters in 2017, Brock said.
Buchanan believes it’s money well spent because to build a new 12,000-square-foot police station — or about half the size — would have cost the city an estimated $8 million to $12 million.
During a tour Tuesday with the Journal-News, Officer Joshua King, community service officer for the department, talked about the numerous improvements and amenities.
“This has been great for us,” he said. “Truly awesome.”
Some of the walls and windows inside the station are bullet resistant and concrete blocks are filled for officer and public safety, King said.
The police station includes a community room open to the public, dispatch center, numerous offices, training room, evidence processing area, squad room, men’s and women’s locker rooms, lockers for SWAT and honor guard members, tornado safe room, fitness center and physical therapy area, a 300-degree training simulator that will allow officers to experience real-life scenarios in-house, three holding cells each with a bed and a toilet, four work stations with adjusting desks to allow officers to stand or sit while completing their paperwork, and a gated parking area for the officers’ personal and work vehicles.
The retail space Foggyz Vapor Lounge used to occupy in the shopping center has been converted into a secure drive-through sallyport. Officers can pull their cruisers into the area and escort those arrested to the holding cells.
There also is a designated area for an enclosed shooting range if the city ever wants to spend the estimated $1 million, according to reports.
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