Officials break ground for new campus police station
Ground was broken Nov. 13 for a new, $12.5 million station for the UMass Amherst Police Department.
The building, located at 585 East Pleasant St. across from the North Fire Station, will be one of the most advanced, energy-efficient structures on campus.
The 27,130-square-foot complex will be in operation 24 hours per day, seven days a week, providing a home for the police department’s patrol, investigation, specialized and emergency services, as well as crime prevention and educational initiatives for the campus.
Speakers at the event included Provost James V. Staros, Police Chief Johnny C. Whitehead, state Rep. Christopher Donelan (D-Orange), University trustees Edward W. Collins Jr. and Richard J. Lawton, who is also vice chairman of the UMass Building Authority. Barbara R. O’Connor, former police chief and current executive director of public safety at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, also attended the ceremony.
Whitehead says the new building will benefit the campus community in several ways. “This modern new station provides our department with all of the tools that a highly professional police force needs,” he says. “It also serves as an example of how a modern campus building can be energy efficient. I’m sure our new station will become another point of pride for the UMass Police Department.”
The facility has been designed by Caolo & Bieniek Associates. Construction is beginning this fall, with occupancy scheduled for February 2011. Financing comes from the University of Massachusetts Building Authority.
The UMass Amherst Police Department currently has 76 employees, including 62 sworn officers, plus 29 police cadets. The department serves a community of more than 26,000 students and 6,000 employees on a campus of 1,403 acres. It handles 29,800 calls for service each year and has been certified by the Massachusetts Police Accreditation Commission, making it one of only 36 departments in the Commonwealth to have earned such recognition. The new complex will replace the current police facility, located in Dickinson Hall.
The building design includes an inviting structure for visitors and users along with the security measures required for a police facility. Because the building is located at the edge of campus and provides multiple vehicle access and egress points, it should significantly improve response time.
There will be a modern detention area with a secure sally port as part of a safe prisoner holding and processing area. The building also will house a new dispatch center that provides space for staff members who support calls for service as well as the campus’s expanding fire alarm and security systems. In addition, there is a new Emergency Operations Center to provide the campus with a command center that is properly equipped and backed up for critical management activities during campus emergencies.
Construction will include energy reduction and sustainability strategies, and when it is finished campus officials will register the facility for certification under the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program, seeking its highest standard.
The building will have a renewable energy approach to the heating and cooling system. The lighting design for the building uses energy-efficient lighting levels, occupancy sensors and daylight dimming controls. The building envelope includes increased insulation values and all windows and entry doors that are designed with enhanced thermally broken and insulated glazing systems. The project also includes water efficiency measures with the use of low-flow plumbing fixtures. There is a goal to have at least 10 percent of the construction materials made from recycled content as well as 10 percent of the materials come from regional sources within 500 miles of the site.
Overall, the facility is projected to realize an annual energy savings of 49.4 percent as compared to baseline building code design standards.
November 13, 2009.
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