Plans for a new police station to be located at the southeast corner of North 130th Street and Aurora Avenue North, have been slowly grinding on since 2013. Plans hit a snag in 2016 when a dispute arose about the cost of the proposed design.
The present North Precinct Police Station sits on swampy ground at the lowest point in the road, near the headwaters of the South Fork of Thornton Creek.
The existing North Precinct Police Station is located on College Way just north of the community college. Built in 1984 to house 154 staff and now home to 254, the building is badly overcrowded and there is not enough space available to adequately expand it on its current site. In 2013, the City began planning activities in advance of locating and building a new station.
During the following year, the City assembled an architecture and engineering team to perform building pre-design work without waiting for the purchase of an actual site. Then shortly afterward the City acquired three parcels of land for a new precinct station.
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On Thursday, January 21, 2016, the project team made its fourth presentation to the Seattle Design Commission. The Seattle Design Commission advises the Mayor, City Council and City departments on the design of capital improvement projects, as well as projects on City land, in the City right-of-way, or constructed with City dollars.
As of January 2016 the City has completed acquisition of the three adjoining parcels at the southeast corner of Aurora Avenue North and North 130th Street that will be the location of the new North Precinct Police Station. Per Seattle Municipal Code 20.84, the City will provide relocation assistance to the present tenants as they identify new locations and vacate the sites. One of the buildings is now being used as a temporary location of Mary’s Place Shelter.
August 15, 2016 update: While no one disputes the need of the new police station and the suitability of the site on Aurora and 130th, some people have felt the proposed cost of the building was too high. Today the Seattle City Council motioned to have a third party review the design and costs to build the new police station, before City Council goes ahead to approve construction.
The former car dealership property has been purchased for the site of a new police station at 130th & Aurora.