New digs for Marple police
Marple Township police are to have a new building to call home soon. The 29-person department is to relocate from its cramped Sproul Road quarters to a newly renovated building at 1001 Sussex Blvd. - the former location of an audio-video company, next to the township's public works building.
Marple Township police are to have a new building to call home soon.
The 29-person department is to relocate from its cramped Sproul Road quarters to a newly renovated building at 1001 Sussex Blvd. - the former location of an audio-video company, next to the township's public works building.
"At this point, they have outgrown their building," said Anthony Hamaday, township manager.
The 8,000-square foot building was built in 1963 for use as a library. It was retrofitted for police use in 1976, said Hamaday.
With 22,000 square feet, the new building will be designed from top to bottom as a police station, said Chief Tom Murray.
"It will give us room that we need," he said.
The new facility will include separate areas for patrol officers, detectives, and juvenile officers along with rooms for video arraignments and conferences. There will be separate holding cells for juveniles, male and female locker rooms, additional room for evidence storage, and a fitness area and a sally port, or secured garage.
Processing prisoners will be streamlined and contained to one area in the building, said Murray.
"It will make our operation much safer," he said.
Currently, prisoners have to walk up and down stairs and through administrative areas, Murray said.
"If a prisoner gets unruly on the steps, you can have a potential injury," Murray said.
Murray speaks from experience. A few years ago, he and a prisoner ended up falling down a flight of steps. Fortunately, they were not seriously injured, he said.
"I landed on top of him," said Murray.
The new building is expected to cost $1.25 million and is to be paid for with a 2.9 percent, 20-year bond that has been issued by the township, said Hamaday.
The job is to go out for bids on Oct. 1 and be awarded in about a month, said Murray.
"I would like to think we can be in before the end of 2016," he said.
Murray said the new building was designed to last about 50 years. The department set aside about 5,000 square feet of unfinished space to accommodate future needs, he said.
Renovations to the two-story structure will cost about $4.8 million, said Hamaday. With the majority of the work occurring inside the building, the township does not expect weather delays, he said.
The current police station will be demolished to make room for more parking and to relocate the entrance to the adjacent municipal building, Hamaday said.
610-313-8111
@MariSchaefer