Police officers stationed at the city’s 14th district are temporarily reporting for duty at a number of trailers set up in the parking lot of their headquarters.
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Police officers stationed at the city’s 14th district are temporarily reporting for duty at a number of trailers set up in the parking lot of their headquarters on West Haines Street, located behind the historic Germantown Hall, while renovations are completed on the 1950s-era building.
Renovations on the 33,156-square-foot building have been planned for about five years, and are scheduled to be completed in the summer of 2024, according to the Department of Public Property. The overall project is expected to cost $2.6 million.
“We are renovating the entire first floor as part of ongoing holistic improvements,” said a spokesperson from the city’s Department of Public Property. “The improvements include all new spaces, new finishes, and security improvements” and are designed to “enable the district to better serve the community.”
Philadelphia’s 14th police district, which covers the neighborhoods of Chestnut Hill, Mt. Airy and Germantown, has historically been among the busiest districts in the city.
In a separate email, a police spokesman said the arrangement should not have any impact on police response time.
“All calls that require police to respond are dispatched from the 911 call center,” they said.
The first phase of the project, which is now underway, is focused on removing environmental hazards. It is expected to cost less than $100,000 and will be complete by Thanksgiving.
The 33,156 building edge of the parking lot department would not say whether those hazards include asbestos, but did say “these substances have been in parts of the building such as pipe insulation, plaster, floor tile and fire doors.” A sign now hanging inside the shuttered building warns of a substance present that is cancer-causing and could damage the lungs of anyone exposed to it.
The need to remediate environmental hazards was not a surprise, the spokesperson wrote, and none of the officers stationed in the building had been exposed to any health hazards prior to the work being done.
“The building was safe to occupy and was closed only to enable the much-needed renovations to occur,” the email stated.
A rendering of the renovated building is not available, the city spokesperson wrote, but the new exterior will look very similar to the old one. The only difference will be the new windows and storefront doors that are scheduled to be installed.
