Police in Santa Rosa have opened a new substation downtown, the department announced.

Santa Rosa Police Chief John Cregan cut the ribbon to the new station at an April 8 grand opening ceremony.

The Downtown Substation is in Santa Rosa Plaza and the lease was gifted to the department for 10 years from the Simon Property Group.

Police said the new substation will give them a better scope in the downtown core, including the Old Courthouse Square, Railroad Square and the historic West End neighborhood.

The interior of the new Santa Rosa Police Department’s Downtown Substation at Santa Rosa Plaza, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. The substation will be available for officers to write reports and handle investigative needs, the department said. (Santa Rosa Police Department/Facebook)

A downtown enforcement team will be headquartered at the new substation, which will also be available to all other officers for things like writing reports and investigative needs, the department said.

Eventually, the substation will have a public lobby for community members to access the police department.

“The new Downtown Substation will allow us to be more visible and responsive, fostering stronger connections with the residents and businesses in the area,” said Cregan in a statement released by his office.

Katy St. Clair got her start in journalism by working in the classifieds department at the East Bay Express during the height of alt weeklies, then sweet talked her way into becoming staff writer, submissions editor, and music editor. She has been a columnist in the East Bay Express, SF Weekly, and the San Francisco Examiner. Starting in 2015, she begrudgingly scaled the inverted pyramid at dailies such as the Vallejo Times-Herald, The Vacaville Reporter, and the Daily Republic. She has her own independent news site and blog that covers the delightfully dysfunctional town of Vallejo, California, where she also collaborates with the investigative team at Open Vallejo. A passionate advocate for people with developmental disabilities, she serves on both the Board of the Arc of Solano and the Arc of California. She lives in Vallejo.