CHARLESTON, W.Va. — After decades of patiently waiting, members of the Charleston Police Department will soon be able to work in desirable conditions.
On Monday evening, Charleston Mayor Amy Shuler Goodwin announced that the city will be purchasing a new location for the Charleston Police Department headquarters at 1 Piedmont Road, the site of the old Truist bank. Charleston City Council approved the resolution, which authorized the City of Charleston to enter into a purchase sale agreement to acquire the space.
Goodwin says this has been a long time coming.
“The idea of building a police headquarters has been talked about literally for decades,” Goodwin said Monday. “We have been actively working on it and putting money aside for years. This administration took the initiative to say, ‘if we find a space and a location tomorrow, we’d better have the money to pay for it.”
The purchase will cost the city just more than $2 million.
Department Chief of Police Scott Dempsey says a lot of strong conversations have taken place on the project to get the property on Piedmont Road.
“We’ve been talking about this particular project really strong for about two years,” Dempsey said.
Goodwin says it was no easy process to pick a new site, but the former Truist property stood out among the rest.
“We’ve looked through 14 different sites all across the City of Charleston, whittled it down to six, and this one is at the top of our list,” Goodwin said. “It’s a great location, downtown, East End, West Side, great access to the interstate as well, and river access. We’re really excited for the opportunity to purchase this building and to develop and design a state-of-the-art police department.”
The current space for the Charleston Police Department, which is dispersed across multiple locations, has been reported to be inadequately configured and poses a challenge for staff engagement and safety.
Dempsey says the new location is very favorable and a stark difference than the current arrangement.
“It’s really good. Nothing is perfect, but it is great because right now, where we are Downtown, sometimes we get bogged down with a lot of traffic,” Dempsey said. “When you’re detached from Downtown a little bit, we have a little bit of space to get out quickly and more efficiently.”
Dempsey says all of the staff being in one area is a key benefit to look forward to.
“What’s great about the new location is all officers will be under one roof,” Dempsey said. “That will help increase the communication, the efficiency of operations because, right now, we’re spread out and we are running out of some wiggle room.”
In addition to Dempsey and Goodwin’s excitement for the new headquarters, other members of the Charleston Police Department seem enthused. Dempsey says officers have worked well in the conditions they’ve faced over the years, but now everyone is excited for a new space.
“Every day we face a challenge at our current facilities. Our officers are resilient, and they make it work. They’ve made it work now for many, many, many years,” Dempsey said. “When they found out, I think they’re all really excited. They’re just as excited as I am and they’re ready to have this new facility and get to work.”
Dempsey also says the new headquarters will allow for growth in the department.
“Not only will it be state-of-the-art, it’ll be large enough for us to grow,” Dempsey said. “Hopefully young men and women who are wanting to be police officers, and they see our nice facility, they’ll want to come join and be part of our team at Charleston PD.”