City Block Expands
Preserving the feel of Logan’s downtown district was one of the primary considerations when designing the city’s new multi-million dollar Logan City Justice Building.
“We have one of the most famous downtowns in the state of Utah,” said Kevin Hansen, director of public works and project manager for the construction. “It was designed to match the architecture of downtown.”
People who aren’t even from Logan claim it as their hometown, they tend to adopt it as their own, he said.
Construction on the 44,000-square-foot police station and court building started in June 2000, and the 911 call center and police department will move in the first week of November, which will be followed by the courts, Hansen said.
The basement of the three-level building will be used for underground parking and prisoner in-processing. The courtroom, courtroom administration, police administration, 911 call center and a public meeting room will be located on the first floor. The police department’s divisions will be located on the second floor.
“I’m very excited,” Rich Hendricks, chief of police, said. “And you can quote me on that.”
Hendricks said he has been working on this project for the last four years, doing a needs assessment, learning about bonding and figuring out the political process.
“We had a lot of support from the council members,” Hendricks said. “This is the first time to my knowledge in the history of Logan that a building has been designed as a police department. The building we’re in now used to be a music store.”
The 911 number will be down during the move, but no one will know the difference, Hendricks said. Qwest will transfer all 911 calls during the six-hour period to Box Elder County Sheriff’s Office who will then call the Logan emergency services when needed, he said.
“The response time will be the same,” Hendricks said.
On Hendricks’ list of favorite attributes of the justice building is the public classroom which will sit more than 100 people and feature a speaking stage. A “smart” podium will allow speakers to show powerpoint presentations.
The current police station is only 8,000 square feet. The new police station’s floor space is 32,000 square feet.
With more space available, Hendricks said the Logan city police will be more efficient.
“The quality of our work will go up,” Hendricks said.
“It [the justice building] doesn’t have a jail, only holding cells to transport inmates,” Hansen said. “We use the county jail.”
Buildings like the new Logan City Justice Building are a long-term investment for the city, Hansen said.
Hansen said, “$7.419 million was spent on it. We’re looking at 75 to 100 years in this building.”
The building is located at 290 N. 100 West, behind City Hall.