Ottawa Police Services have recently secured the lease of a building at 19 Fairmount Avenue, and will be moving some of its Administrative services from its Elgin Street headquarters to the new location. The Ottawa Police Services Board gave the go ahead on Monday, but the headquarters annex won’t be fully up and running until the beginning of November.
“We’ll be getting some much needed elbow room at Elgin,” said Director of Police Facilities, Carol Roper. The OPS has realized significant growth since 1999, due mainly to two initiatives: a strategic staffing initiative, launched in 2002 and a strategic growth initiative, launched in 2006. As a result, the OPS has grown by about an average of 44 sworn officers and civilian fulltime equivalents each year.
In a report to the Police Services Board, it was pointed out the lack of space at the Elgin Street headquarters has reached critical status. This is in spite of significant investments made to renovate the building in an effort to maximize use of space and accommodate new staff. As of last year, there is simply no more room.
Since it’s not possible to expand the Elgin Street building, Police Facilities staff analyzed the situation and determined 25,000 square feet would be needed to remedy the shortage of space and provide for future growth. With the help of the City’s Real Estate Services Division, the search for lease space began in March 2008.
Ideally, they were looking for a downtown or Centretown location within walking distance from the Elgin Street headquarters, with street level space for servicing the public, and with parking close by. 59 sites were identified and later shortlisted to four. Of the four, two were of interest to the OPS, but one of them was already leased.
After several months of negations failed to yield an agreement between the OPS and the landlord of the last building, the search area was widened to include locations within the entire City of Ottawa. This time, over 500 potential sites were shortlisted to 21.
The building at 19 Fairmont turned out to be the best value that met OPS requirements. It is west of downtown, about 5 kilometers from police headquarters. It is a 26,918 square feet three storey building, with parking for 33 vehicles included in the rent – the OPS will need and is seeking 70 additional parking spots close by. In addition, the building is in a state that will reduce fit-up cost.
The agreement is for a 10 year lease. Rent for the first year will be $52,742.83 per month and will increase annually to reach $57,076.92 per month by the fifth year. Rent for the remainder of the lease will be negotiated towards the end of the fifth year. The cost to fit-up the building and install IT infrastructure will be around $1,375,000.
Roper said the OPS is still deciding which functions it will move to the new location, but she expects about 100 to 150 OPS staff will be affected. She pointed the first and second floors are currently occupied by the federal government until the end of September, but the OPS will begin moving some functions to the third floor from the beginning of March until the full lease term starts in November – the landlord will not charge extra.
She pointed out this will help with the transition and final move in October. Roper said she’s pleased with the location. She doesn’t anticipate any logistical issues particularly with increase traffic. She also said community groups in the area have been keen to work with the OPS and she certain those groups will welcome the police headquarters annex into their neighbourhood.
Posted on October 18, 2009
0