New Aurora police headquarters taking shape
Construction crews building the new Aurora police headquarters have noticed the double-takes from drivers along Indian Trail Road.
Most of the workers know it's not because of their ripped jeans or sleeveless shirts.
The new three-facility campus has begun taking shape in recent weeks with half the steel in place for the 158,000-square-foot headquarters and walls and most of a ceiling in place on the adjoining 40,000-square-foot training and support building.
Aurora Project Manager Barb Kattermann and construction company officials took the Daily Herald on a walking tour of the site Friday at 1200 E. Indian Trail Road.
"Projects move really quickly once the steel work begins and people start to see the building come into form, so we've seen some heads turn as folks drive by" said Ralf Peterson, superintendent for Leopardo Construction, which is building the facility. "By late fall we hope to be putting the facade and windows up and then you'll really have a good idea how it's going to look."
As early as March 2009, officers should be using the support building's large firing range and state-of-the-art evidence lab and classrooms housed in the training and support building.
"We couldn't have everyone moving in here at once so we staggered our construction of the training facility and parking deck to be done several months ahead of the headquarters," said R.C. Wegman construction manager William Arnolde. "Before long, we'll be completely under-roof and putting the finishing touches on the inside so it can be used as soon as possible."
The entire $75 million, three-facility campus remains on schedule to open in January 2010.
"We're on time and under budget," Kattermann said. "That just doesn't happen. With a project like this you usually get one or the other."
The campus will be a far cry from its current home. Kattermann said officers have outgrown their 42,000-square-foot building, built in the 1960s at 350 N. River St. The new campus, she said, is capable of lasting 30 to 50 years.
"You can't go around building police stations every five years," she said. "So we've made sure we won't have to."
The existing station has had its share of maintenance problems and is basically unfixable, city leaders say. The building eventually will be demolished, with the site to become part of Aurora's new River Edge Park.