Memorial Town Hall/Police Headquarters Renovation and Expansion Project PageThis page will be updated to provide the latest information on the Memorial Town Hall/Police Headquarters Renovation and Expansion Project. Please check back frequently for updates.
Q: Why does Hamden need a new Police Headquarters? A. The Police Department is currently crammed into approximately 9000 square feet of space, when two independent studies conducted between 2002 and 2007 determined that the department required more than 50,000 square feet to account for current and future needs. The two police buildings--one a converted library--do not meet contemporary standards for police facilities and need to be replaced. Q: Is Memorial Town Hall the right place for a Police Headquarters? A: When it was first constructed in 1924, Memorial Town Hall housed the Town's police headquarters. However, it is important to recognize that this is a 4-part project: police headquarters construction, renovations to Fire Station #4 located at Memorial Town Hall, renovations to Memorial Town Hall (including the auditorium), and a two-tiered parking structure to help improve parking availability in the Town Center. Only the Dixwell Avenue "wing" of Memorial Town Hall will be dedicated to Police Department functions. Q: What other sites are available? A: To accommodate the Police Department, the site of Police Headquarters should be centrally located with access to major thoroughfares and offer three to five acres of space. Post-9/11 recommendations for police facilities also recommend certain "stand-off distances" between outer walls and public streets or parking areas to minimize blast risk from vehicle-based explosives. Retrofitting existing commercial buildings is very difficult due to the need for block walls in certain internal areas and appropriately locating a secure sally port, where prisoners are meoved from police vehicles into the facility. No other Town-owned property offers the advantages of the Memorial Town Hall and adjacent Police Department parcels. Q: How much will the project cost? A: A.P. Construction of Stamford has been hired to provide project estimates. In an estimate provided in November, 2008, A.P. Construction estimated the project at approximately $36 million dollars. This figure excludes expenses such as Architect's fees, Fixtures, Furnishings and Equipment, and Owner's Contingency. The estimate also does not account for a reduction of 4000 square feet in the new addition that has been proposed by the Architect and accepted by the Town. Q: Will the project be energy efficient? A: The project is designed to meet LEED Silver standards for energy efficiency. All energy modeling to date indicates that the project will meet, and possibly exceed, the requirements for LEED Silver certification. Q: When will the final project cost be determined? A: This project will be competitively bid by the Town, with the assistance of the Construction management firm, in twenty to thirty different "trade packages". These bids will be evaluated and the lowest responsible bidder will be selected. These accepted bids will determine the project cost. Q: Can the Town delay financing the project until the bids are reviewed? A: To do so would constitute "bad faith bidding" by the Town. The process of responding to a bid can cost a company tens of thousands of dollars, and in order to maintain a competive field of bidders (which ultimately saves the Town money), vendors must have some level of certainty that their reward for this time and effort will be a contract to do the work specified. A project financed at the estimated rate provides that level of certainty. [Return to main Memorial Town Hall page] |