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PRESS RELEASE
Mayor Young Announces Relocation of BPD Central District Offices
Future Consolidations of BPD Operations Also Being Considered
BALTIMORE, MD. — At its meeting earlier today, the Board of Estimates voted to approve a lease that will relocate the Central District of Baltimore Police Department and several other public safety functions to the building that formerly housed The Baltimore Sun, located at 401-501 North Calvert Street. In addition to this immediate move, the city will continue the exploration of consolidating many public safety services on other floors within the same building.
“This is a win-win for Baltimore,” said Mayor Bernard C. “Jack” Young. “I believe strongly in fiscal responsibility and am pleased to identify and move forward with a unique opportunity to improve work conditions while also saving the City money long-term. By moving BPD and Fire offices from buildings that require tens of millions in capital to modern facilities that better serve the community, the City can eliminate those capital expenditures so we have more to spend on schools, recreation, and business recovery.”
“Another benefit of this move is that public safety will be increased in the neighborhood surrounding the new Central District property,” continued Mayor Young. “Additionally, we will continue to move forward with an effort to consolidate various public safety functions within the same building to create more operational efficiencies that will lead to better productivity and communication. This move will help us honor our commitment to provide our residents with world-class 21st-century policing services and will equip our public safety officers with state of the art facilities.”
Commissioner Michael Harrison fully supported the move and noted that “most of our police facilities are dated and in desperate need of repair. The relocation of the Central District will improve operations and provide those men and women with much better workplace conditions than exist in the present building.”
By consolidating functions from four outdated city buildings into the new location on Calvert Street, the City is estimated to save at least $800,000 in deferred maintenance on buildings over the next four years. The buildings that will be vacated represent tens of millions of dollars of capital liability. The move also provides the opportunity to monetize these older facilities which are perfectly situated for community-focused development. “One of my priorities as Mayor of Baltimore is to encourage and to enable development and redevelopment that does not leave any community, any block, or any of our neighbors out. The redevelopment of these properties will be done right and with full community participation,” said Mayor Young.
“We are very pleased that BPD will occupy portions of the former Sun building,” said Tom Mullen, President & CEO of Mercy Health Services and Mercy Medical Center which is adjacent to the building. “This move is a very positive outcome both for public safety and ongoing economic development for the northern part of downtown and Mount Vernon. Mercy is excited and proud to welcome the men and women of BPD’s Central District as our new neighbors.”
Shelonda Stokes, interim President of the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore added that the location “is more accessible than the existing location and will have a positive impact on both downtown and surrounding neighborhoods while also benefitting Central District operations.”
“We are thrilled to be able to accommodate the needs of the Baltimore Police Department and its Central District police station. We believe it is a great fit and look forward to welcoming BPD to this unique and historic building,” said Patrick T. Coggins, Executive Vice President of Atapco Properties, the owner of the property
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