The Prince Albert Police Service is buying the former Conexus bank building in downtown Prince Albert. (Charlene Tebbutt/paNOW Staff)

By Charlene Tebbutt

downtown police presence

Optimism over police purchase of downtown bank building

Apr 30, 2019 | 5:27 PM

The Prince Albert Police Service is buying a vacant building in downtown Prince Albert to better house its growing department.

City council approved the purchase of the former Conexus building on 10^th Street East, across from city hall, at their regular council meeting Monday night. The building has been vacant for several years.

The city will loan the $340,000 needed to buy the building to the police service. The plan is to offset the cost of the purchase with the sale of the service’s building at 15-15^th St. W., which is right next to the police station. The police service bought that building in 2008 and it currently houses 20 staff members in the ISET, criminal investigation and Internet child exploitation divisions.

The police service will also end its lease agreements on two other properties later this year, meaning staff will soon work out of just two locations in the city instead of four.

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Prince Albert Police Chief Jon Bergen said the police service has long been in need of more space, and looked into several different options in recent years, including the construction of a new building. The purchase of the Conexus building would be the more cost effective option, Bergen said, adding that a new building is estimated to cost at least $30 million.

“With the space that’s there, between that and the current building, we know that will put us up to about 40,000 square feet of available office space and that’s going to meet our needs for the next five to 10 years,” he said. “This is definitely an interim solution, where we would likely pay more than what we’re going to acquire this space for in lease agreements if we didn’t do this, so it makes sense.”

The Conexus building will need some renovations before staff can move in. Council heard Monday night that the cost of renovations are an estimated $600,000, plus the cost of putting in 40 electrified parking stalls behind the building, and the cost of a fence.

Once renovated, the building would accommodate about 40 staff members with the police service.

City councillors supported the move Monday night, saying the deal will help revitalize the downtown core and create more visibility in the area.

“There’s going to be a police presence all the time, all over the downtown,” Mayor Greg Dionne said. “I think it’s going to be a great opportunity for us.”

Other councillors agreed.

“Along with the addition of the university [of Saskatchewan], we’re going to see a good change downtown,” Ward 6 Coun. Blake Edwards said.

The new 10^th Street location could potentially house the community relations department, bylaw unit, foot patrol, traffic unit and other support services, a report to city council said. The Prince Albert Police Service currently employs 135 people full time.

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Charlene.tebbutt@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @CharleneTebbutt