Fresno City Council gives green light for new, modern police station

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- The Fresno Police Chief is celebrating a milestone that will benefit the department and community for years to come.

A new substation was just approved for southeast Fresno. The project has been a decade in the making.

The state-of-the-art facility will be much more accommodating for the 90 officers who work in that beat.

The old southeast Fresno police substation used to be in the heart of the southern portion of the city on Cedar near Butler. But over the years - the facilities have become more and more cramped. Officers don't have enough space to park their cars and the building itself is very outdated - it was built 36 years ago. On Thursday, the Fresno City Council gave the green light to start building a new, more modern police station.

"It's going to be a state of the art facility, 10,200 square foot compared to what we are currently in at 3900 square foot. There will be ample parking for all of our officers - they'll be an area for visitors to come in," said Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer.

The new substation will be located at Tulare and Argyle. The construction contract was awarded Thursday to a company out of Bakersfield. Groundbreaking will be in March and the project should be complete in early 2020. The money came from the city refinancing some loans along with income from impact fees.

Dyer says the location will be far more ideal for officers responding to calls.

The substation also marks a monumental moment in Chief Dyer's career. As he looks toward retirement next year - he's leaving the agency with the tools officers need to police the growing city and meet its needs.

"It is something that I've worked hard to provide to our officers, good facilities. I think our residents are deserving of that within their neighborhoods so it's meaningful," he said.

During his tenure substations have also been built in Northeast and Northwest Fresno along with a Central substation at Manchester Center. By the time the latest substation is complete- Dyer says it will be debt-free.