A new St. Petersburg police headquarters is about to rise.
- New St. Petersburg police headquarters under construction
- New facility, on First Street North, to open in spring 2019
- St. Petersburg Police Department
Groundbreaking took place Thursday on the First Avenue North site where the new facility is set to be built. The new building will be across the street from the current headquarters.
The building will have a little more than 167,000 suqare feet of space.
Set to open in the spring of 2019, the new facility is being built at a cost of $72 million. The funding is coming from Penny for Pinellas, the city and the county.
The new headquarters will feature multiple energy reduction strategies, a community room and will be able to withstand a Category 4 hurricane. Also, a key component of the new facility is enhanced evidence storage.
St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman said the facility is much needed and has been a long time coming.
"We stand ready," Kriseman said. "More than ready, to break ground on our new station.
"A station some said would never get built. A station some gave up trying to build or to build right. But here we are, because when it comes to the safety of our men and women in uniform, and the safety of the community they protect, you never ever give up."
Take a sneak peek at the new headquarters