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Cincinnati's newest police station is also one of the city's greenest buildings

Cincinnati's newest police station is also one of the city's greenest buildings

Last week Cincinnati officials lauded the opening of a new police station that they’re calling one of the nation’s greenest buildings devoted to public safety.

Cincinnati-based emersion DESIGN led design on the new Police District 3 Headquarters, which will be LEED Platinum and net-zero, producing as much energy on site as it consumes, according to city officials. The building’s design/build team also included Messer Construction, CMTA Engineering, Human Nature Landscape Design, Strand Associates, and Genesis Design.

Geothermal heating and cooling complements the building’s tightly sealed envelope, as well as other efficiency measures that cut its energy demand in half relative to similar 24/7 public safety buildings, while solar photovoltaic panels offset its electricity consumption.

At 39,000 square feet, the new headquarters more than doubles the previous Warsaw Avenue facility, which first opened in 1907. The new building at 2300 Ferguson Road in Westwood will house roughly 200 employees.

Following the playbook of Cincinnati Public Schools, the new district HQ will also incorporate public art and host community events in an attempt to soothe a sometimes fraught relationship with police. In 2001 Cincinnati grabbed national headlines when widespread protests seized the city following the police killing of unarmed Timothy Thomas. (Cincinnati police have also earned national media attention for substantial reforms since the riots.)

“It used to be that when cities built civic buildings like this, they were places the community could come together,” said Mayor Mark Mallory at the building’s groundbreaking in 2013. “With District 3, we’re doing that again. We want people to come here and feel comfortable coming here with their neighbors.”

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