St. Louis, MO (KSDK) - The City of St. Louis and the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department are putting money seized from criminal activity to good use. Nearly $3 million in confiscated monies was used to purchase a new police headquarters in downtown St. Louis.
The new headquarters, located at 1915 Olive Street, cost $2.7 million, an estimated $5 million less than the building's market value. Wells Fargo Advisors was the previous owner. A.G. Edwards once had offices in the building.
The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department's current headquarters at 1200 Clark Avenue was built in 1927. It is 6 stories tall, with 167,550-square feet available, and about 150 parking spaces at its disposal. The Board of Police Commissioners said an engineering firm inspected the building in 2009 and estimated necessary upgrades and repairs for the 83-year-old building would cost around $75 million. If the department chose to make only the most critical upgrades and repairs, it would still have cost the city an estimated $15 million.
The new headquarters on Olive Street is 7 stories tall and was built in 1990. It's smaller inside, 143,024-square feet available, but includes 350 parking spaces, with 284 of those spaces available in an indoor parking structure.
The department will not be able to make the move until the new headquarters is customized to include interview rooms, suspect-holding areas and other specific police department requirements. The customization will take between 18 and 24 months.
The department's crime lab and communications division will remain in their current locations, near the Clark Avenue headquarters.
KSDK