Architects to report on city police station space needs

PORTSMOUTH If city officials decide to move forward with a plan to build a new police station, they might have to erect a three-story structure that would include a "police department parking garage and firing range," according to a report on the department's space needs.

Pointing to the "land constraints in downtown Portsmouth," the report prepared by Lavallee Brensinger Architects in Manchester and the Architects Design Group from Winter Park, Fla. states that "consideration has (also) been given to combining the firing range and the fleet maintenance program components into a two-story stand-alone structure."

The report is scheduled to be presented to the City Council on Monday.

The study estimates that a two-story structure would be roughly 178,000 square feet and include the headquarters, a parking garage and a firing range, while the three-story option would be roughly 168,000 square feet with the same elements.

But the authors of the report declined to estimate what a new station would cost, saying, "without critical information from the site selection and master planning process, it is impossible to create a useful conceptual project budget."

"Land procurement, number of building stories and site development costs greatly impact the overall project cost," the report states.

Police Chief Stephen Dubois said it's too early in the process for the department to start looking at potential sites.

"We're taking it step by step," Dubois said.

Choosing a site for a new police department will be "a community decision" as much as an "internal discussion," Dubois said Friday.

"We have no aspirations to rush into something without giving it a lot of thought and also including a lot of people in that discussion," Dubois said.

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Architects to report on city police station space needs