Spring ISD Board President Rhonda Newhouse takes an honorary first swing at demolishing a wall to create a larger dispatch center at the future Spring ISD Police Command Center.
Photo album: Preparations for New Spring ISD Police Command Center
HOUSTON – June 8, 2018 – Hammers in hand, Spring ISD Board Trustees took aim Thursday at a wall of sheetrock destined for demolition as renovations began on the district’s new Police Command Center and Tax Office, approved under the 2016 bond program.
“It was fun,” Trustee Justine Durant said. “It was exciting to be part of the change taking place in this building and to know that we’re taking down a wall for the dispatch room where we will be able to communicate with the community. It’s a great way to start this project.”
The renovation work is designed to turn the two-story, 41,864-square-foot building at 420 Lockhaven into a modern facility to meet the needs of the district’s Police Department, which has outgrown its current offices at 210 North Forest Drive and a temporary building on East Richey Road.
“We’re excited about this project,” said Spring ISD Police Chief Victor Mitchell. “It’s triple the size of our current space. We’re also pleased to have the opportunity to share the space with other departments.”
While the Police Department will occupy the first floor of the building, the second floor will provide office space for the district’s Tax Office as well as Technology and Risk Management departments.
On Thursday, trustees helped demolish some of the 520 linear feet of interior walls as the entire building is renovated over the next several weeks. The target completion date is later this summer, with district personnel moving into the new location by the beginning of the 2018-19 school year.
Several trustees took a quick tour of the first floor of the building, where they got to see the future spaces for a dispatch center, property room, squad room, as well as interview and holding areas.
Board President Rhonda Newhouse thanked the community for its support of the 2016 bond. She noted that renovation work at 420 Lockhaven was another milestone in a program that has already seen much success over the past two years. Next week, the district will be hosting its first official groundbreaking of the program at the site of the new Roberson Middle School.
“It’s wonderful to see the progress,” she said. “We’ve needed this new Police Command Center and Tax Office, and it’s all coming together.”
The architect on the project is the GPD Group (previously SBWV) and the contractor is Division One, which provided the hardhats, safety vests and tool used by trustees on Thursday.
“We’re on schedule and things are moving along the way they are supposed to,” said Project Manager J. Michael Langley of GPD Group
In November 2016, voters approved a $330-million bond to address long standing facility, technology, safety and security needs of Spring Independent School District. The five-year bond program includes technology and safety and security improvements, three ninth-grade centers, two middle schools, building maintenance projects, a new police command center and a replacement stadium to serve the entire district.