The new Philadelphia Police Public Services Building is currently at 90% capacity and soon a total of 1,200 personnel will report to the former newspaper building. The renovation project carried a price tag of $252 million.
The 470,000-square-foot renovation was completed on time and within budget, project manager Andrew Brown tells 6ABC. The historic building, which was built in 1924, was the former home of both the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Daily News. The renovations began in January 2018 and were completed in December 2021.
When you enter the building, you’re greeted by a sculpture made up of more than 1,400 real police badges and an updated seal of the City of Philadelphia.
Currently, the building is occupied from the basement to the seventh floor while the eighth through eighteenth floors are currently unassigned.
There’s a roll call room for the 6th and 9th police districts, an executive floor for top brass, and a multi-purpose room with media equipment that can fit more than 100 people, reports FOX29. The building also houses the Medical Examiner’s Office with autopsy rooms and labs, Central Detectives, the Homicide Unit and the newly formed Shooting Investigation Group.