Mayor Ted Bettencourt recently submitted a $69.2 million bond order to finance a public-safety headquarters, which would include a new police station, next to the Higgins Middle School.
In a letter to the City Council, Bettencourt wrote that the current police station on Allens Lane is nearly 50 years old.
“It no longer meets the needs of our outstanding officers, professional support staff, or the nearly 55,000 Peabody residents they serve each day,” Bettencourt wrote. “21st-century law enforcement demands the very latest equipment, technology, and workspace. I believe it is time that Peabody had a state-of-the-art complex to serve as administrative headquarters for the Peabody Police Department, the Peabody Fire Department, and our emergency management services.”
The project’s total cost of $69.2 million includes roughly $55 million in construction costs, $11 million in project development and equipment costs, and $3 million in contingencies.
Bettencourt also provided the schematic design of the proposed new headquarters in a packet. The packet includes a comparison between the existing police station, which is roughly 28,000 square feet, and the proposed headquarters, which would be around 53,000 square feet.
In a letter read by Councilor-at-Large Thomas Gould at a recent City Council meeting, Police Capt. Scott Richards wrote that there is an urgent need for a new police station.
“Throughout my tenure, I have witnessed firsthand the challenges and shortcomings of our current facility,” Richards wrote. “It is not merely a matter of aesthetics and convenience, it is a fundamental necessity for the safety and efficiency of our officers and the community they serve.”
Richards also said that the city’s police officers deserve better than the current station.
“I can attest to its limitations, from overcrowded workspaces to outdated infrastructure,” Richards wrote. “It hampers our ability to respond to emergencies effectively.”
According to a timeline provided to the City Council, Bettencourt expects that the project would be substantially completed by late 2026.
“Rebuilding Peabody’s physical infrastructure continues to be among our top priorities as mayor and council,” Bettencourt said. “We share an obligation to future generations to leave Peabody in better shape than we found it. Investing in our roads and bridges, water and sewer, schools, and other municipal buildings will pay dividends for decades to come.”
