Building expansion brings services together

9,500-square-foot $5 million expansion holds probation, alternative sentencing programs

An expansion to the Loveland Police and Cour ts building is complete and operating, bringing departments together under one roof and more alternative sentencing programs to those in Loveland.

The 9,500-square-foot expansion located on the southeast side of the Loveland Police and Cour ts building is now the combined home of probation services, the community corrections day reporting program and the county’s Alternatives to Incarceration for Individuals with Mental health needs program.

“This expansion at the Police and Cour ts building allows those ser vices to have (a) home for much easier access for people on the southern part of the county,” said Ken Cooper, facilities director for Larimer County.

Prior to the expansion, probation ser vices in Loveland had been split into two locations. This expansion also brought the adult and juvenile probation ser vices together into one building.

Those wishing to use the AIIM program, which provides an alternative to incarceration for individuals with mental health issues that are in the criminal justice system, and the community corrections day reporting program, which ser ves a variety of customers ranging from people who are not involved with the legal system to clients who are transitioning from prison and need close monitoring, can now access those programs in Loveland instead of having to travel to For t Collins, which was their only option before.

“Those are ser vices that didn’t exist in Loveland before this project, so that is bringing those ser vices to Loveland so (program users) don’t have to travel to For t Collins,” said David Bragg, senior project manager for the county and manager of this project. “For probation it consolidates all of their staff into one area so they are not disjointed anymore.”

The expansion also included eight secure parking spaces for judicial ser vices and the district attorney’s office.

The $5 million construction began in June of 2019 through Haselden Construction after being designed by Architect Studio Inc. According to Cooper, the project was paid for through cash from the county that did not come with any tax increases, with help from a $100,000 development fee waiver from the city of Loveland.

Construction for the expansion finished in spring of 2020, just as the pandemic was star ting, Bragg said. He added that while it did not affect construction, the pandemic did make furnishing the office more difficult as furniture manufacturers shut down for health concerns.

Despite this, the office opened for business during the summer and employees were able to get to work inside.

Mandi Lozano, a support services employee for the probation of fice, said that having the county agencies with the probation of fice in one location has been great for them and their clients, who they used to have to send to For t Collins.

“It is nice that we have them right here,” Lozano said. “We got the space that we badly needed for years.”

Cooper said that one of the big aspects in the design and constr uction of the building was making sure that it fit with the preexisting police and courts building.

“I think you would have hard time deciding where the existing building was and where the expansion came about, which is exactly what we wanted,” Cooper said. “The design team and the project team did a really good job of blending what really is a pretty hard building to mimic with those brick patterns.”

There will be a “unof ficial ribbon cutting” event Friday at 10:30 a.m. to officially display the expansion.

Austin Fleskes: 970-635-3630, afleskes@prairiemountainmedia.com