City to relocate Vancouver Police Department headquarters

Vancouver City Council authorizes a lease purchase agreement on a building located at 521 Chkalov Drive, near Interstate 205 and Mill Plain Boulevard

VANCOUVER — The city of Vancouver will move forward with plans to relocate its police department headquarters after receiving authorization from Vancouver City Council to approve a lease purchase agreement on a building located at 521 Chkalov Drive, near Interstate 205 and Mill Plain Boulevard.

The lease term is for five years, three months, with an option for the city to purchase the property at the beginning of year three for approximately $10 million. In addition, the agreement also includes the first right of refusal to acquire an adjacent 1.4 acres of undeveloped land.

Interior renovations are expected to begin soon, with staff anticipated to move into the new building within the next 12 months.

The current headquarters building, located at 605 E. Evergreen Blvd., no longer meets the critical needs of the Vancouver Police Department (VPD) due to the size, configuration and operational limitations of the building. Growth in the police department, through increased staffing and the addition of an in-house police records unit, has taxed the capacity of its current facilities to accommodate additional personnel. In addition, VPD does not have dedicated training facilities and the availability of space donated by private businesses to conduct trainings has been declining.

“Increasing community expectations require us to continue investments in 21st century policing programs, technology and training,” said VPD Chief James McElvain. “The new headquarters location will provide enough space for future growth, for our training facilities, and is centrally located to current and future VPD service areas.”

The new headquarters building provides 44,512 square feet on two floors and will house VPD’s Office of the Chief, administration, finance/logistics, community volunteer offices, the Training Unit, specialty functions currently located in west and east precinct locations, and dedicated training space for VPD staff (currently 212 sworn and 53 civilian employees).

“This is a rare opportunity to secure a building with the size, configuration, building type and location that aligns with the current and forecasted needs of our police department,” said City Manager Eric Holmes. “I’m grateful for city council’s leadership in allowing us to move forward with this opportunity.”

For more information and updates on the status of the headquarters move, please visit www.cityofvancouver.us/new-VPD-HQ.

Information provided by city of Vancouver.

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