Col. Peggy Stradford (left), chief of staff of the 79th Sustainment Support Command in the U.S. Army Reserve, shakes hands with Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia during an Oct. 24 ceremony during which the City accepted the deed for Schroeder Hall from the U.S. Army Reserve. The 4.7-acre facility will be renovated to house the Long Beach Police Department’s East Division Substation.
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Following years of negotiations, Schroeder Hall, which has served as an Army Reserve Center for decades, will soon undergo major renovations to become the Long Beach Police Department’s new East Division Substation, possibly by the end of next year.
During an Oct. 24 ceremony, Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia accepted the deed for the 4.7-acre facility from the U.S. Army Reserve. Garcia referred to the deed transfer as “the culmination of a lot of hard work.”
“We will be able to transform this site into an incredibly important function for us and our police department,” Garcia said. “This is the new site for our East Division Substation. It’s going to serve the entire east side of our community. It’s incredibly important that this site is built, as we all know, and what’s special about it is this is a site with a lot of history for the U.S. Army Reserve. We’re going from an organization that we’re so proud of that has protected our country and our communities for such a long time to transition to another important organization that also has a mission of protecting our community and serving our residents.”
During the event, 5th District Councilmember Stacy Mungo said that accepting ownership of the facility is a “major milestone” for the City.
“I’m very pleased that the new substation will provide our officers the tools and resources they need to be able to best do their job,” Mungo said. “The substation will feature better office space, renovated locker areas, showers, restrooms, gym facilities and ADA accessibility for our multipurpose room, where we can hold community-watch events and other events in the community.”
Mungo explained that the deed transfer also represents the enhancement of homeless services in the city.
Col. Peggy Stradford, chief of staff of the 79th Sustainment Support Command in the U.S. Army Reserve, represented the Reserve at the event.
“The Long Beach Reserve Center has served the Army Reserve well and supported thousands of reservists,” Stradford said. “But the building’s significance is reflected in its heritage. This building was named in honor of Maj. Henry Schroeder, who was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions in the Philippine Insurrection in 1900. Henry Schroeder volunteered for the Army in 1896, and he served until his retirement in 1930. Maj. Schroeder’s duty and dedication represent the commitment of our Army Reserve soldiers who serve their nation and their state but also make great contributions to their local communities. We’re honored and take pride in knowing that this facility will be utilized by the police department East Division Substation and will continue to support the citizens of Long Beach.”
Representing the police department at the ceremony was Deputy Chief Laura Farinella, who said she had toured Schroeder Hall many years ago and looked forward to the possibility of it serving as a substation.
“I really want to acknowledge the mayor and the City Council and their support to make this happen, as well as all the other city departments that had a hand in this,” Farinella said. “It’s a true collaboration for us all standing here today.”
A year ago, Long Beach city councilmembers voted in favor of zoning changes for the facility, clearing the path for the proposal to build the new police substation and juvenile detention facility. The zoning change was a necessary step for City leaders to take before the property could be transferred from the federal government to the City.
As reported in the Signal Tribune on Oct. 25, 2013, the staff report described how the building will house facilities dedicated to at-risk youth and juvenile offenders, but those operations will be separate from those of the police substation. A staff of about 27 persons will work in the juvenile facilities.
Because the adjacent facility will not act as a homeless-services center, as formerly proposed, a facility operated by Mental Health America (MHA) will be located at 1955-1965 Long Beach Boulevard in the 6th District as a homeless-accommodation site.
The City purchased the 28,237-square-foot building on Long Beach Boulevard in a transaction that was unanimously approved by the Long Beach City Council during a March 2013 meeting.
The City is paying $2.8 million for the facility, in addition to $1.2 million for related improvements, including providing programming and designing and constructing a retail establishment, a community meeting room and tenant improvements, as reported in the Signal Tribune March 22, 2013. The total cost to the City will be $4 million.
Schroeder Hall was instead chosen as the new site for the East Division Substation since the current substation on Los Coyotes Boulevard near the Traffic Circle is undersized and outdated, according to the City.
“We’re pleased to be moving forward,” Police Chief Jim McDonnell said in a prepared statement. “This new workplace will afford us the ability to access technology, utilize space to handle complex investigations and enhance our community partnerships in the East Division.”
Schroeder Hall U.S. Army Reserve Center was declared surplus under the 2005 round of the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process, which was designed to increase U.S. military efficiency by reorganizing its bases. The Long Beach City Council and a citizen advisory committee suggested that the facility be used for the police department’s East Division Substation. The U.S. Departments of Justice and Housing and Urban Development approved a no-cost public benefit conveyance of the facility in 2010, a savings to the City of Long Beach of more than $3.5 million, according to the City.
As part of the BRAC process, the City helped MHA acquire the Long Beach Boulevard site, which is located adjacent to a Los Angeles County mental-health facility.
