Today (Fri., Jan.21), the Metropolitan Police Department, City of St. Louis and the Board of Police Commissioners purchased a building from Wells Fargo Advisors that will eventually replace the department’s aging Clark Avenue headquarters building. The building, at 1915 Olive Street, was purchased for $2.7
million, an estimated $5 million less than the building’s market value. The building was
purchased using Asset Forfeiture funds-monies the court ordered be seized as proceeds
of criminal activity.
The department’s current headquarters building at 1200 Clark Avenue is 6-stories,
167,550 square feet and has about 150 parking spaces. It was built in 1927. The board
and department first addressed concerns about the condition of the building in June of
2009, following an engineering firm’s assessment that the necessary upgrades and repairs
the 83 year old building requires, would cost an estimated $75 million. Even if the
department had chosen to make only the most critical upgrades and repairs, it would have
cost an estimated $15 million.
“This is a win-win, both for the citizens of St. Louis who expect the department
to be fiscally responsible and also for the men and women of this department who
deserve a safe and functional work environment,” said Bettye Battle-Turner, President of
the Board of Police Commissioners. “Wells Fargo Advisors has a strong commitment as
a corporate citizen and the firm has continuously shown its support for our police officers
and our police department. We are grateful for their partnership.”
Chief Dan Isom said, “It will be bittersweet to leave the building that has been
home to the police department for more than 80 years, but we were committed to making
the best financial decision possible, while keeping the safety of our employees as the top
priority. We thank Wells Fargo Advisors and are excited about the prospect of adding a
new chapter to the history of our police department and our community.”
The 1915 Olive Street building is a 7-story structure built in 1990. The 143,024
square foot property includes a total of 350 parking spaces, with 284 of the spaces in an
indoor parking structure and 66 additional spaces on two adjacent secured parking lots.
The building formerly housed the offices of A.G. Edwards. Due to the necessity to
customize the building to include interview rooms, suspect-holding areas and other
highly specific requirements of a police department, the department’s next step is to issue
a request for proposals for interior customization. It is expected that customization may take 18 to 24 months. The department will also work with the City of St. Louis’ Board of Public Safety to access City bond funds to assist with the customization project. The department will continue to operate out of its current headquarters building
on Clark Avenue until the customization is complete and a plan is established that would
ensure continuity of services to the community during the transfer to the new location.
The board and department leaders will also work to establish a plan for decommissioning
the current headquarters building. The department’s Crime Laboratory, which sits adjacent to the Clark Avenue building, will remain in its current location. The
state-of-the-art lab was built in 2005. The Communications Division (911) will also
remain in its current location just south of the existing headquarters building.