By Nick Diamantides
Staff Writer
The Art Deco exterior and sloped seamed-metal roof of the new Signal Hill Police Department headquarters will make it look more like a modern, upscale motel than the hub for police activities. But its larger administrative offices and records area along with enhanced communications technology will put it on the cutting edge of law enforcement.
Construction will begin next year, and city officials expect the new facility to be completed by early 2010, with move-in tentatively scheduled for April of that year.
The Los Angeles-based architectural firm WMM Associates completed the preliminary plan for the new facility recently. Signal Hill deputy city manager Charlie Honeycutt, Police Chief Tom Sonoff and Police Captain Mary Risinger have been working with the architects through every step of the plan to ensure the new building meets the SHPD’s needs.
On Feb. 12, the Signal Hill City Council gave the nod to the preliminary plan and unanimously authorized the project management team to move forward with the more detailed final design, which will probably be presented to the council in August. At today’s construction prices, the project is expected to cost about $13.1 million, but the city has budgeted $14.8 million for the facility.
Honeycutt noted that the goal of building a new facility is to provide the SHPD with a building that is large enough to accommodate the expanding police force and equip it with state-of-the art technology to increase the department’s efficiency.
After considering several sites for the new building and holding community meetings to get input from residents, last year the council decided have it constructed in the area formerly known as The Green on Walnut Avenue between 27th and 28th streets.
“The process to acquire the four-acre site is underway,” Honeycutt said. “Letters advising the city’s intent to appraise the property were mailed to 240 property owners that could be located through a title search.”
He noted that approximately 2,400 other people own one or more of the 7,000 shares of the site that was originally sold as oil field investments in 1922. Although most of the owners cannot be located, the city will use condemnation and other legal means to acquire the entire parcel. Honeycutt said he anticipates that the acquisition process will be complete by Oct. 2008.
Sonoff described some of the aspects of the new facility. He stressed that, from the beginning, the project management team wanted a very attractive building that would meet SHPD’s needs.
He noted that because a lobby usually provides the public’s first impression of a building, the team focused a lot of attention on that area.
“One thing I insisted on was that we have a lobby that is inviting to the public,” he said. “I wanted something that reflects the professionalism of the police department and the city.”
WMM architect Stephen Wiley said that while the project management team has not yet decided on all the lobby’s features, it will be the tallest feature of the new police headquarters and it will have a sloped metal roof, probably blue in color.
“We also want it to have an open view so that people driving on Walnut Avenue can see into the lobby,” he said.
Sonoff said the interior would be designed to give visitors a sense of welcome. It will include a front counter, a secure doorway leading to the other sections of the building and a unisex bathroom.
Two private interview rooms–one designed to calm children or female crime victims–will be located next to the lobby. Sonoff said the rooms will provide privacy to individuals who are reporting crimes to the police.
“This is something we do not have right now,” he added.
Sonoff also described another important section of the facility: the Emergency Operations Center (EOC). A full 300 square feet larger than the present EOC, the room will accommodate up to 45 people and include computer workstations built into the wall.
Designed for use by governmental leaders and heads of emergency response agencies in the event of a major catastrophe, the room will also be available for private group meetings throughout most of the year, and may be used for government sponsored gatherings as well.
Sonoff also described the new SHPD administrative offices, police records area, investigations division, and male and female locker rooms–all of them larger, improved versions of the present facilities.
The new building will also include features enabling it to house state-of-the-art communications systems that will enhance the ability to send and receive messages and digital data between the dispatch center and officers in the field. The equipment will also improve the SHPD’s ability to communicate with other law enforcement agencies.
The facility will include a new jail with six two-man cells and a sobering cell (also known as a drunk tank) for intoxicated prisoners. The current facility has eight one-man cells. Signal Hill does not house female prisoners and transports them to county facilities instead.
Honeycutt noted that the new police headquarters will encompass approximately 18,600 square feet and a separate 2,000-square-foot evidence storage building will be constructed along the west property line.
Wiley noted that the building’s appearance will link it with the architecture of some of the city’s oldest buildings.
“We want some of the feel of Signal Hill and its history and some of the Art Deco style that they had here for a number of years,” he said. “We also want to make it an obvious city building.”
He explained that because the new facility will not be at the civic center, some of its features will resemble some attributes of City Hall.
After the presentation, Mayor Tina Hansen said she liked the way the new building will look.
“You look at this and it makes you feel very peaceful,” she said. “It’s a very lovely design.” The other council members echoed her comments.
