About the project
Guelph is a growing city. To keep pace and continue providing high quality police services, the Guelph Police Service (GPS) is growing too.
GPS headquarters is undergoing an expansion and renovation to meet the needs of our community’s police services today and 25 years from now. This work will bring the facility up to today’s health and safety standards, provide the appropriate space—long-term—for police operations and personnel, and replace the building’s aging equipment.
The headquarters building is located at 15 Wyndham Street South, and bounded by Fountain, Freshfield and Farquhar streets.
Scope of work
The renovation includes gutting and rebuilding the inside of the existing building and the expansion includes the construction of two new wings.
- West wing will be four storeys high with indoor parking on the two lower levels for the police fleet, office space on the third floor and the fourth floor shell will accommodate future growth. Consideration for an additional two stories has been factored into the design.
- East wing will include the new main entrance and community room accessible from Wyndham Street.
Design highlights
- enhanced security features
- designed to withstand a major disaster (e.g. earthquake)
- a multi-functional room for community groups to use
- private interview rooms
- enhanced efficiency of space and layout e.g. situating those interacting with the community in close proximity to each other and the main entrance
- legislative compliance for detainees’ health, safety and legal rights, monitoring, security
- effective, environmentally-friendly and cost effective heating/cooling systems and lighting, click here to see more.
Budget and financing
City Council approved a $34.1 million budget for this project in 2014, which will be funded through:
- development charges – $14.8 million
- tax funded Police Capital reserve – $3 million
- tax funded debt – $16.3 million
Timeline
The construction work is expected to take 154 weeks to complete and is scheduled to start April 2016 and end in the spring of 2019. Project milestones schedule coming soon.
Project partners
Parking and construction impacts
On-street parking options in the area have changed to accommodate this construction project. For more information about downtown parking visit guelph.ca/parking.
Resources
- Corporate Administration, Finance and Enterprise Committee Staff Report
- Guelph Police Service Headquarters Renovation and Expansion presentation for Corporate Administration, Finance and Enterprise Committee
- KPMG The Guelph Police Service: A Business Case for Police Facility Renewal
History
- Guelph’s first police station was constructed in 1856 and was a part of the town hall and market house. The building included a police office and lock-up.
- In 1900, the police department moved to its own building in the “Annex” located behind the court house on Carden Street. By this time, Guelph’s population was about 12,000 people.
- As Guelph’s population grew to 38,000 in 1959, the police station on Wyndham Street was built.
- In 1989, the Wyndham Street building was retrofitted and a west wing was added.
Source: City of Guelph
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