Process for Selecting TPD HQ Site Moves Forward
Public Engagement Continues
April 24, 2019
During the 30-day open submission period, the community made 68 sites recommendations for the new location of the Tallahassee Police Department’s headquarters. Of those, 51 met the 9-acre minimum requirement and 19 were within 2.5 miles of the center of Tallahassee. Tonight, the City Commission received an update on the project’s next steps.
All of the recommended properties will be evaluated by the construction manager team based on the following criteria:
- Minimum of nine acres
- Development (relocation, demolition, etc.)
- Proximity to potential hazards
- Access (vehicular, pedestrian, public transportation)
- Adequacy of infrastructure
- Cost of land acquisition (sales price)
- Appropriate surrounding land use
- Proximity to other City facilities and functions
- Zoning
- Impact of redevelopment
- Proximity to the City center
This evaluation will be used to develop a list of five to 10 sites. Once the list is compiled, community feedback on the short-listed properties will be sought.
Following public input, the short-listed properties will be brought before the City Commission for consideration. Written notice of the pending City Commission meeting where the short-listed properties will be discussed will be provided a minimum of one month in advance to property owners and tenants within 1,500 feet of each property that meets the minimum criteria.
The City Commission will then select three sites for further consideration. City staff will verify interest from any property owner whose property is short listed and was submitted for consideration by individuals or groups who are not the owner or an authorized representative of the property owner.
At that point, additional outreach to owners of the three sites, as well as the public, will be done, and site concepts will be developed for consideration. Learn more at Talgov.com/TPDHQ.
The vision for the new headquarters is that it will provide adequate space for TPD’s more than 400 officers and staff, meet current and future operational needs and expand the concept of a traditional police station by also incorporating a variety of publicly available features to serve residents. A multi-functional facility of this type will help police officers connect and build strong bonds with residents, a focus of TPD’s community policing efforts.
TPD has conducted operations from the headquarters on Seventh Avenue since 1972. Over the past several decades, space constraints to support modern public safety services have continued to mount within the current building, which was originally designed for other purposes and is nearly 100 years old. The department has grown considerably in terms of the number of employees and the variety of services it offers to the community since moving into the current facility. During the evaluation of TPD’s current headquarters, it was identified that the future home for TPD needed to serve a much broader purpose.
For more information on the site selection process for TPD’s new headquarters, visit Talgov.com/TPDHQ. Learn more about TPD at Talgov.com or by following @TallyPD on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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