Community members and municipal leaders in the city of Palo Alto cut the ribbon at a new $123.5 million public safety building that will be the home to the city’s emergency services.
The project has been in the works since 2014. The 57,000 square foot building at 250 Sherman Ave. will be the new offices of the Palo Alto Police Department, fire department administration, 911 emergency dispatch center, the Emergency Operations Center, and Office of Emergency Services, according to a news release from the city on Sunday.
About 150 city employees will work out of the three-story building. The joint offices are intended to improve services and bring faster responses to the campus of Stanford University, according to the city.
Over 200 people turned out on Sunday to celebrate the building’s opening, according to the city’s statement.
“With its distinctive architecture, enhanced work environment, and core mission to protect us all, I hope this remarkable new facility becomes an icon representing our city’s commitment to the public safety of our citizens,” Palo Alto Mayor Ed Lauing said in a statement.
“I believe this commitment is the fundamental obligation of local government to its residents and the Public Safety Building is fundamentally a new way forward for enhancing public safety operations to serve the Palo Alto and Stanford communities,” Lauing said.
The building was funded by an increase in the city’s transient occupancy tax in 2014 that voters passed to fund a list of projects as part of a 2014 Infrastructure Plan. The public safety building was one of the highest priority projects, according to the city.
The public safety building features a public plaza, multi-purpose training room, and meeting spaces, which are named after police officers who gave their lives in the line of duty.
The officers — Lester Cole, Gene Clifton, and Theodore Brassinga — are also honored in a display of bronze plaques in the lobby.
Assistant Police Chief James Reifschneider said it was an exciting day to finally open the building and paid his respects to his colleagues who gave the ultimate sacrifice for the city of Palo Alto and its residents.
“I’d like to take a moment to acknowledge our fallen officers, and as we come to work each day, their bronze plaques will be a reminder of their service to our community,” Reifschneider said.
The building was completed in conjunction with another of the 2014 projects, the California Avenue Area Parking Garage, which is across the street from the public safety building and has solar panels on the top level that provide power for the building via underground cables.
This story was updated on Nov. 18 at 4:41 p.m.