Sunday, October 1, 2023

Williamsburg City Council Greenlights Plan to Build New Police Station, Relocate Public Works Yard

WILLIAMSBURG – On March 9, Williamsburg City Council unanimously approved an agreement with Henderson, Inc., to continue work on the construction of a new police station and begin relocation of the public works yard, which is on land where the new station will be built.

The “interim agreement” authorizes Henderson “to develop the final design for the project in conjunction with city staff in anticipation of entering into a comprehensive agreement for the construction of the facility.”

The contractor will conduct design work to reach 50 percent of the construction drawings, at a cost of $938,803.

As that work goes on, portions of the public works yard will be relocated. The contract approved currently includes grading and site work at a cost not-to-exceed $1,393,170.

The work will begin this summer. “That portion of the project can be started in advance of the final police station design,” Williamsburg City Manager Andrew Trivette wrote in recommending approval of the interim agreement. “This will facilitate a faster schedule to project completion.”

The city intends to replace its current police station located at 425 Armistead Ave., with a new, 43,000-square-foot facility on Lafayette Street next to the Municipal Building. The existing police station was built in 1977 and its decaying state has been the subject of discussion for years.

Once the design work on the new station is 50 percent complete, a “guaranteed maximum price” will be determined and the city council will be asked to sign off on a comprehensive agreement for the construction of the whole project, probably at its August meeting.

Don’t put away your hard hat anytime soon. Once the police move, the public plaza that is now home to that department, the library, and the Stryker Center, is slated for redevelopment, too. The plan is to bulldoze the police station to allow for construction of a “21st-century library” in its place.

That’s on top of the estimated $14.5 million the city is spending to build a new fire station just across Lafayette Street. The new fire station is expected to open in October.

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