Clayton Celebrates Acquisition of New Police Headquarters

November 16, 2009

On Monday, November 16, the City of Clayton officially became owners of the Heritage Building. “This is the first step toward finally securing a new center for our police department,” said City Manager Craig Owens. “With the
purchase of the Heritage Building, the City protects a historic structure from an uncertain future, while preserving security for Clayton citizens on financial terms favorable to the City.”

The property at 10 South Brentwood Boulevard will be renovated and become the site for Clayton’s new police station. Construction of a new police station is imperative because of space needs for police operations and the cramped and deteriorated condition of the existing station at 227 S. Central Avenue after 50 years of intense use. The central location makes the building an ideal site for the new police station. Renovation of an existing building accelerates the time line for a new station over ground-up construction and will be less expensive.

The timing of the acquisition allows the City to use taxable “Build America” bonds at historically low rates after federal rebate and within the window of time the federally issued bonds are available and provides the most favorable financial terms for Clayton.

City Manager Owens explained that the need for a new police station dovetailed with the availability of the Heritage Building, the City’s intent to preserve its historic presence in the community and the best financial terms that could ever be expected. The City also intends to upgrade the entire building to attain a Silver LEED designation.

The City has a management contract in place to maintain the building and to service the tenants who will remain in the building. The next steps will be to create the design and construction plan for the building conversion.