Although its expansive interior now holds only clusters of construction equipment and piles of building materials, before the end of this year that single-story commercial building at 191 South Main Street (Route 25) will become a modern police station for the 45-member Newtown Police Department.

Construction workers plied their trades on a recent brisk winter day both inside and outside the structure, which is undergoing a renovation and expansion project on the sloping lot at the northern corner of South Main Street and Ethan Allen Road. Kaestle Boos Associates of New Britain has designed the project.

Until late last year, the site had lain dormant with a vacant office building that, until a few years ago, had been used by The Taunton Press, a publishing firm.

Initially, police officials had expected that a new police station would be constructed somewhere at the 185-acre town-owned Fairfield Hills core campus. But two potential building sites under review there proved problematic, resulting in town officials turning their attention to 191 South Main Street, where the commercial building stood and was deemed suitable for renovation and expansion.

In 2018, the town bought the 7.35-acre property from 191 Main Street South LLC. The town also bought the abutting 61 Pecks Lane, a 4.39-acre parcel, which holds a single-family house, from Peck & Main LLC. The combined 11.74-acre site will provide flexibility of access for police. Besides the main access point at South Main Street, the complex will have a secondary accessway for police use only that connects to Pecks Lane.

The $15.1-million project has been a long time coming. For decades, police officials have said that the existing police station on the upper level of Town Hall South at 3 Main Street is simply too small and outdated to effectively serve as a police station.

The 191 South Main Street building will be expanded by 3,654 square feet, increasing from 21,687 to 25,341 square feet. The expanded building will be more than three times the size of the existing police station, which has been in use for the past 40 years.

The building expansion project will include a dual-bay sally port or secure portal for the transfer of prisoners to and from the building, as well as various types of prisoner holding cells that are now required for police stations. Prisoner processing facilities will be included, as will an evidence room.

The new facility is 2.7 miles south of the existing centrally located station. Police say that the new station need not be centrally located. While there are certain advantages to having firehouses and ambulance garages centrally located in the districts they serve, that is not necessarily true for police work.

Fire trucks and ambulances are kept garaged at a central point until they are needed to respond to a call. However, at any given time, a number of police officers are on patrol in the several patrol districts in the town. When needed, the police officer on patrol in the district where an incident has occurred typically responds, as well as other police, if needed.

A Kind Winter Hastens Project

First Selectman Dan Rosenthal said February 18, “I am pleased with the construction process thus far. The project schedule is still on track and we went into the project with the proper amount of contingency [funds], so I feel good about where we stand with the construction budget as well. It’s also worth noting that winter has been kind to the project.”

Police Chief James Viadero told police commission members earlier this month that mild weather this winter has put the construction project ahead of schedule by about two to three weeks. The chief regularly checks the construction site to learn how work is progressing. The target date for project completion is November 18.

Police Captain Christopher Vanghele, who is second in command at the police department, said that town police officers are very much looking forward to working out of the modern facilities that will be provided by the new station.

The renovated/expanded building at 191 South Main Street will be a “state of the art facility,” explained Administrative Lieutenant David Kullgren, with its features meeting the current requirements of law enforcement agencies.

One feature of the new building that may hold broad public appeal is a community room, an approximately 1,200-square-foot space that will be available for public activities and meetings. The room will be located in a “nonsecure” section of the building, making for simpler public access to that facility.

“It’s exciting to see the [construction] progress. The town first began [police station] facilities needs assessments in 1997,” Lt Kullgren said. “It doesn’t look like a lot now, but they’re moving ahead,” he said of the construction workers’ progress.

The town's emergency dispatching facilities for police, fire, ambulance, and scuba divers will move from its current location at 3 Main Street to 191 South Main Street.

Site work at the 191 South Main Street site will include resurfacing the parking lot and creating a new secure parking area for police vehicles. Of the planned overall 91 parking spaces, 63 spaces would be designated for police use. The area where police park will be secured by a locking fence.

The building will get a new roof. Also, a new septic tank will be installed for its septic system. Although the area is served by the Aquarion Water Company’s public water supply, the property does not have access to municipal sanitary sewers.

Asked what will become of Town Hall South at 3 Main Street after police move to their new quarters, Mr Rosenthal said, “I would like to sell the property. However, that is not something I can do unilaterally, as it will involve the Board of Selectmen and Legislative Council as well.”

The first selectman added, “I would hope it could be sold for some commercial use, but whatever the case, the town controls the property. So we will be able to dictate the uses at present and in the future via the property deed.”

He added, “While I cannot speak for all those involved in the decision-making process, I think this is an important caveat in making sure that we don’t leave what happens to that site up to chance. I don’t intend to let the structure sit dormant for long. However, we are at the mercy of the real estate market.”

Before the town acquired 3 Main Street more than 40 years ago, the building there had been an agricultural equipment dealership. The town converted the structure for use as a police station on the upper level and town offices on the lower level.