LONGVIEW, Texas — The City of Longview celebrated the grand opening of their new police headquarters with public tours on Tuesday evening. The event consisted of a ribbon cutting and the chance to view the inside of the new headquarters before they close it to public view.
"This day is a testament to the strength of our community," said Mayor Andy Mack.
The Longview Police Department will soon operate in a new three-story building that includes multiple new additions like a gym, larger dispatch center and an updated crime lab.
Chief Anthony Boone says the facility is equipped with the latest technology to enable officers to effectively and efficiently complete their tasks.
The space and efficiency wasn’t the only thing that was constantly referenced with the new building. Boone says he looks forward to the new way the department will flow.
"The station's actually designed to be a modern police department and actually do the things that we need it to do," Boone said. "It makes it so awesome compared to what we're doing right now with everything's kind of a retrofit to make it work because it's a building that's almost 50 years old that we're currently in."
The building measures 71,300 sq. ft., and was funded by a 2018 bond. According to city manager Rolin McPhee, all the planning to construct the facility started in 2015.
"This truly is the crown jewel of police buildings, police facilities in East Texas," McPhee said. "I think it shows the level of professionalism, the level of respect and the level of community investment within the public safety department."
Many residents took their chance to check out the new facility while they can. Boone said the completion of the new headquarters wouldn’t be possible without support from residents.
"This bond is one of those examples of that," Boone said. "We've had quite a few new fire stations built in, and now this police department is well and we want to do a good job for our community. We appreciate so much that our community supports us."
Although the department was welcoming the public to come visit the new facility on Tuesday, they are not operating there yet. So if you need to visit the LPD, make sure to go to the location right next to city hall.
Boone said he hopes to have the entire department fully operational at the new location by mid-January. He said it depends on how smoothly they can transition while also continuing their 24/7 operations.