Could New Canaan police HQ become senior housing?
NEW CANAAN — As the town considers four townowned sites for the new police headquarters, the First Selectman Kevin Moynihan suggested Tuesday that the present police station could become senior housing.
The town is considering sites in addition to ball field next to Saxe Middle school for the new police headquarters, after a building rendering was presented by architect Kaestle Boos at a joint meeting of the Town Council and Board of Finance. Architect Eric Rossi called the ball field the “top spot.”
Three overarching options are simultaneously being explored to update or replace the 1926 police building: including constructing a new facility on a different parcel of townowned land, renovating the present structure, or demolishing the old facility and building new on the present location at 174 South Ave.
If the police headquarters is moved, the old building could be converted into moderate-income senior housing, Moynihan told the Advisory Committee on Building and Infrastructure Tuesday. “I personally think we still need senior housing in town.”
Brian Humes Jacunski Humes Architects Humes, who is looking at the options for the present site, said the police building can be renovated for another purpose, including senior housing.
Moynihan said he has already spoke with a developer who has constructed other senior housing as well as the local Housing Authority about the feasibility of this idea. Hearst has reached out to the first selectman for the developer’s name, but has not heard back yet.
The sale of present police station could fetch $6 million to $10 million after the police move to the new location, Moynihan said at previous meetings.
The estimates for the police station project range from $14.7 million to $29 million, according to presentations made by the two architects in the joint meeting. All estimates assume the police will have their own pistol range, which Moynihan said Tuesday may not be the case.
Architect Kaestle Boos has estimated it would cost $23.5 million, to build the station on the ball field.
The ball field is a controversial location for the police department. Selectman Nick Williams has already voiced objections, calling it a galactically stupid idea.
Architect Kaestle Boos is expected to create site renderings of the building on the lumberyard parking lot near the train station, Locust Avenue parking lot, and the mulch dump located across from Waveny Park, Moynihan said at the meeting.
The architects will not yet be doing building renderings, as were done for the ball field lot, Moynihan told Hearst Tuesday.
If parking lots are used, cost estimates for a tiered structure to replace parking spaces will be included, Moynihan told the committee.
The police want a new or updated facility, since the present headquarters was retrofitted from a school in 1981, and lacks space for modern law enforcement needs. Forty years ago, town officials did not foresee the need for lockers for female officers, a simulated training area and ample space for computer equipment, police officials say.
The new sites were chosen from a pool of 13 initial sites chosen after discussions by “all relevant employees,” whose “mission was to advise Kaestle Boos,” Moynihan said. Of the more than a dozen sites considered there were “throw aways” such as using the lots under the Vine Cottage and the old Red Cross.
Councilman Penny Young said it is important “to underscore that there is going to be continued study on this” to assure “the community when we make decisions like this, we really do look at all kinds of options.”
In addition, Moynihan is “still open to someone coming in and saying they will sell their property,” for the project.
More discussions on the site location will take place after new members of town board are seated after elections on November 2.