Lexington’s new police facility was ‘built with a purpose,’ chief says
Touting an “inviting” environment, Lexington Police Chief Lawrence Weathers officially opened the police department’s new office on the east side of Lexington.
The station, commonly referred to as LPD’s east sector roll call, is located on Clearwater Way in between fire station No. 22 and Veterans Park Elementary School. The $4.2 million, 7,900 square foot facility was described Thursday as energy efficient, accessible and a state of the art police facility.
“It was built with a purpose for us to be part of the east sector community, part of not just the community surrounding and not just the school (Veterans Park Elementary School) but part of the whole east sector,” Weathers said at the event. “It’s inviting and it’s accessible, and that’s what I want you to know about our officers.”
The building will be used by officers who work in police’s east sector.
The building has many security features, such as a controlled entrance, bullet-resistant materials, a storm shelter and separation between public and police parking. It also is environmentally friendly with insulated concrete wall construction, the ability to accommodate solar panels, a geothermal heating and cooling system and high-efficiency windows that provide natural light to all the work areas.
“This is one of the most beautiful things about this building, is the natural light,” said Mayor Linda Gorton.
LPD had multiple sites to choose from for its new facility, which has been operational for about one month. The site on Clearwater Way is owned by the city, which made it an attractive option compared to a rental building.
LPD’s previous east sector roll call center was in a rented building on Centre Parkway.
“Taking the rent factor out of it really made it more cost effective for us,” Weathers said.
The new location is also very close to Tates Creek Road and Man O’ War Boulevard, giving officers quick and easy access to some of the busiest roads in the eastern side of town. The building also features advancements that help officers do their job.
“Some of the technology we have requires WiFi capability and requires some faster connections, and we have all that here with the building,” Weathers said.
Weathers said the completion of the building would not have been possible without the collaboration of the community, Gorton and the Lexington-Fayette County Urban County Council members.
