Rendering courtesy of TurnerBatson Architects.
The new headquarters for the University of Alabama at Birmingham Police Department.
The UAB Police Department will soon move into a new headquarters at 14th Street and 11th Avenue South that’s twice the size of its current facility and will help police operate more effectively and provide more services to the community.
Wyatt General Contractor is overseeing construction of a two-story, 28,000-square-foot, $8.2 million building adjacent to the department’s old offices.
The building should be ready by March, according to UAB Media Relations.
Police personnel are excited about the change, according to UAB Deputy Police Chief Marvin Atmore.
“Providing adequate facilities for our officers will enable them to grow in the size and amount of coverage they provide,” Atmore said.
The department has easily outgrown its current headquarters, a 1960s-vintage office building, he said.
The larger facility will allow the department, now in three locations, to consolidate operations and personnel in one place, according to Atmore.
“We believe the new state-of-the-art headquarters, which will include communication department staff offices and a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week emergency call center, will only enhance our ability to provide the support and service our community deserves,” Atmore said.
“We also feel that the new facility will provide more efficient and attractive use of the site that is more inclusive with the surrounding neighborhood,” he said.
The headquarters will offer, among other features, a conference room, storm shelter and 1,500-square-foot training area.
That large training area, which can be used for public events, represents one of the biggest advantages of the new facility, according to Atmore.
He said it will give the police more room for the the community programs and services they host regularly, such as rape aggression defense (RAD), active shooter and mountain bike training classes.
“The new headquarters will allow us to accommodate a larger number of participants for these classes and others, as we move forward, which is really exciting and rewarding,” Atmore said. “We enjoy the opportunity to train our faculty, staff, students and community to help them develop and enhance options of self-defense and personal safety.”
The old police building will be demolished to make room for parking and green space, according to Media Relations.
