PSB Schematic Design

The PSB has finished the second phase of design called schematic design. The project team has a program for the building which itemizes all the types of spaces that need to be in the building and their square footage and the schematic design phase explores options for how these spaces can be pieced together to form the building. That building has taken shape over schematic design and culminated in the rendering above. The building committee has been critical in helping us inform the design and get the project to the end of this phase.

The PSB will be a new home to police, fire administration, and Engine 3. The 70,0000 square foot building is 4 stories with a 3-level parking garage. The exterior design is intended to look like two buildings, Engine 3 and the fire administration design inspiration is a traditional fire house. The police program and public amenities design inspiration is a modern, open, and transparent building to convey a department that goes beyond protecting and serving but that continues to work with the community to solve complex problems both now and in the future.

There will several community benefits as part of this project – a pocket plaza in the front of the building at the bend in New Washington Street, a community meeting room, and a south facing park fronting the existing alignment of New Washington Street. The community meeting room is placed to be a jewel box on the front of the building overlooking the pocket plaza. There will be new pedestrian and cyclist facilities on New Washington Street and, when the project is complete, this will be one of two new municipal buildings in decades.

In Spring 2022, there will be some work at the site preparing it for construction including soil remidiation and utility trenching for the new roadway. Building construction will start in earnest in later next year and be completed in the Fall of 2024. The next project phase is design development. This is where the chosen design schemes from schematic design get refined and coordinated with structural, mechanical, and electrical systems. At this time, the project is taking a pause to check in with the community on December 13th at a community meeting. We will review the decisions made thus far and get feedback from the community at the meeting.