Estrella Mountain Precinct grand opening
Opening celebrated: first new police precinct in 18 years
Estrella Mountain Precinct officially opened its doors Friday, September 25, 2009 during a Grand Opening ceremony hosted by City of Phoenix officials and Public Safety Manager Jack Harris. The new 25,000 square foot state-of-the-art facility designed and built by architects Arrington Watkins and Gilbane Building Company, is one of two Phoenix police precincts that will officially convert the total from six to eight by the end of summer, 2010.
Funding for both precincts was earmarked during a 2006 bond election. Coming in under budget, the final cost to build Estrella Mountain precinct located at 2111 S. 99th Avenue was $9.6 million. The number of authorized sworn positions within the Phoenix Police Department increased 78 percent since 1991; that includes 400 sworn positions added through Proposition 1. The geographic size of Phoenix increased by nearly 94 square miles with a population increase of nearly 600,000 during that same period of time. Once the second new police precinct is completed in northeast Phoenix, the City will undergo boundary changes that will create smaller officer beat areas that hopefully will keep response times low or even drop them further.
Estrella Mountain Precinct is more than double the physical size of existing precincts and can easily accommodate 200 patrol officers. It has secured parking for 300 vehicles, a fueling station for City vehicles, multiple conference rooms including one for community meetings, a 30-person briefing room, a state-of-the-art prisoner processing area (with nine adult holding cells and a separate juvenile work area), a 4-bay indoor shooting range, exercise room, break room, officer lockers/restrooms/showers, administrative area, and the facility also has an area to accommodate motor officers, detectives and other police resources.
The last Phoenix police precinct completed was Central City Precinct, opened in June 1991. PSM Harris remarked to media and citizens gathered at the recent event, “The addition of both of these new precinct facilities will serve as an investment in the future of public safety for this community and for all of Phoenix.”
Estrella Mountain Precinct under construction (spring 2008)