NEW ALBANY, Ind. (WDRB) -- Crews broke ground Wednesday in New Albany on a brand new police headquarters.
The new building will be across the street from the current headquarters at Scribner Drive and West Spring Street downtown.
For three decades, the city has rented space from Floyd County in the Criminal Justice Center on Hauss Square to house the police department. Police Chief Todd Bailey has said that the current location is "too small to properly serve the needs of a modern police force," and that a new headquarters will allow the department to "better train our officers, provide new services for the community, and increase our mental health and crisis response teams, among other benefits."
The new headquarters for the department will be the first standalone station in the city's history.
"Law enforcement is not just about law and order," New Albany Mayor Jeff Gahan said. "It's about community-building a well-being and creating a safer and more inclusive and more responsive New Albany, and this new police headquarters will do just that."
The city council approved the nearly $13 million project back in January. The city said the new headquarters will be completed with no new taxes or increases to residents.
Construction is expected to take about a year to complete.
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