Michigan City Mayor Ron Meer announced to the public on Friday February 27 that construction will soon begin on Michigan City’s new police station. A 42,000 gross square foot, state of the art facility in the city’s Eastport district will replace the over 50-years-old station in place now.
“From my first day in office, I have always stressed how important I feel it is to provide exceptional public health and safety to our citizens, visitors, and potential investors,” Mayor Meer said. “The new Michigan City Police Station will be an up-to-date, state of the art facility that will provide our men and women another tool in their efforts to deliver that high level of safety to each and every one of us.”
On February 17, Michigan City Council members voted unanimously (9-0) on the construction of the new station in the Eastport location which was formerly home to Eastport school. This decision was the last step in the way to beginning construction of the new station.
The decision to build a new station was one that Chief Mark Swistek and the Michigan City Police Department had been hoping for since 2001, when a fire inside a padded cell in the current station left it in desperate need of repair.
Since that time, Michigan City and the Police Department itself has grown as well, and the need for a new, state of the art facility became even more of a priority.
We had outgrown our current facility,” Swistek told attendees of the conference. “Now our employees can look forward to the dream of realizing we have a new facility on the horizon.”
“The new facility, designed by American Structurepoint out of Indianapolis, with offices in South Bend, was designed to provide the best security possible while also realizing that the facility sits in close to proximity to many residential areas.
“The facility was built with sustainability in mind,” Lead Designer, Brandon Hoopingarner, said.
This decision to build on the Eastport property, which has been in discussion ever since February of 2012 when Chief Swistek first proposed it as an idea to Common Council members, has been described as a “win-win-win” by Michigan City Now, a community activist group dedicated to growing the city.
"We at Michigan City NOW feel the unanimous approval by the city council and the overwhelming support by the public is a great mandate for the important revitalization movement we are all witnessing right now in Michigan City,” Michigan City Now Chairman, Melissa Wood said.
According to NOW, the new station will help in stimulating Michigan City’s economy, improve the value of the Eastport neighborhood and its quality of life, and generate funding for Michigan City’s economy by opening up the valuable piece of land near Lake Michigan where the old station currently sits.
But perhaps most importantly, it will be a home that the hardworking police force of the city truly deserves.
“To have a new facility will give them a sense of pride to take on new projects and keep going in the direction they have been at reducing crime in Michigan City,” Wood concluded.
The city hopes to begin building as soon as June of this year. With plans to complete construction on the project within 14 to 16 months, or as early as Fall of 2016.
Top photo courtesy of American Structurepoint