There is broad agreement that Halifax Regional Police needs a new home, but concerns are being raised about how much a new headquarters for the police force could cost taxpayers.
From the age of the building to efficiency and safety concerns, 1975 Gottingen St. is no longer serving the needs of HRP.
Options for the new headquarters were discussed during the Police Board of Commissioners meeting last week.
There are three potential sites shortlisted for the new facility: Gottingen Street in north end Halifax, Cowie Hill in Halifax and Burnside Industrial Park in Dartmouth.
According to Republic Architecture, the group that won the project tender, all three sites are solid contenders and a draft needs assessment is expected to be completed this month.
It’s estimated the cost of a new HQ could reach $180 million over a seven-year period, and for board member, Coun. Tony Mancini, that price tag is too steep.
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“It’s over 50 years old, and for a modern police force, it’s not doing the job. It needs to be replaced, but it is concerning that price tag,” said Mancini.
“We have so many projects right now (including the) Halifax Forum at $120 million. We need two or three new fire stations. They’re $10 to $15 million each. We need all kinds of rec facilities, 50 metre pool and the list goes on. We can’t do it.”
It’s a sentiment shared by Mayor Andry Fillmore, who acknowledges Halifax police need facilities to support modern policing but says the cost estimate is concerning.
“A $180-million proposal deserves serious scrutiny,” he said in a statement.
“Before Council is asked to make decisions of that scale, I want confidence that every option has been explored, including phased approaches, shared facilities, distributed models, partnerships, modernization of existing assets and opportunities to reduce overall cost.”
Mancini says if the new headquarters came to regional council today with that price tag, he couldn’t see it passing.
“There is a study that’s going on right now and when that study comes back, we’ll have more information,” he said.
“So we can have further conversation and may have an opportunity to start looking at early possible designs at that point in time.”
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