With news that the state is going to once again try to auction off its one-time armory on State Street, there's been some chatter around town about the city buying the building and converting it into the new police headquarters.
After all, it only costs $60,000.
First off, it's going up for auction, and $60K is just the ante. It will likely go for considerably more than $60,000. City Manager Jason Molino said judging by the number of calls the city has been getting with questions about zoning for the property, there is quite a bit of interest in it.
But even if the city could get it at a reasonable price, converting it into a police station would still cost millions.
"It's not a turnkey building by any means," Molino said.
To make it suitable for police needs there would need to be substantial modifications, a lot of demolition, environmental abatement and retrofitting.
"It's not just a matter of repainting a few walls and moving in," Molino said.
The building was considered for a possible location early in the process, Molino said. The original committee of city staff and consultants toured the building and the city even asked the state to hold off on selling it until the city could complete its study.
The state didn't wait. The building was sold at auction, but that deal eventually fell through.
Even with a potential private owner to deal with, the task force that eventually came up with the Swan Street recommendation gave brief consideration to the armory, but rejected the idea almost as quickly.
Besides the cost, the location is essentially a residential area and the property has only one point of entry and exit. With State Street being a main thoroughfare during the school year, the property would be hard to enter or exit quickly twice a day -- morning and afternoon -- for nearly 10 months out of the year.
The City Council will be asked to consider a plan to build a police station from the ground up on Swan Street. That public discussion among council members has yet to take place.
