Public Safety Projects
Thermal Sheriff’s Station – Expected Opening March 2012
Located on the south side of Airport Boulevard, east of Polk Street, the $42 million Thermal Sheriff’s Station is a 77,000-square-foot facility that will be the Sheriff’s Department eastern Coachella Valley regional headquarters.
The Sheriff’s Aviation Division will be housed at the 12,000-square-foot hangar, helipad and approximate 7,000 square feet of office and aviation maintenance space. The project will also include a forensics laboratory and 12,000-gallon fueling station for Sheriff’s Department vehicles.
The facility is expected to be ready for Sheriff’s Department personnel to move into by February 2012.
Mecca Fire Station – Groundbreaking January 20, 2011
Mecca Fire Station #40 broke ground at 91-350 Avenue 66 in January 2011. This new fire station adds features that will reduce response time and facility energy costs while improving public safety in Mecca.
The 12,411-square-foot facility will replace the 3,058-square-foot station, built in 1952, located at 91-100 4th St. The station will include three brand-new bays and an eight-bed dormitory. Its compact design will help reduce response times. Photovoltaic panels installed on carports will reduce facility energy costs. The station also features drive-through capability for fire equipment, eliminating the need to stop traffic so large equipment can back into the bay.
Funded by an estimated $5.1 million from redevelopment and capital improvement funds, the new Mecca Fire Station is expected to be completed in June 2012.
Thermal Fire Station - Grand Opening 11 a.m. February 29, 2012
Thermal Fire Station #39, built in the 1950s, is presently located at 56-925 Vic Higgins Street. Construction began in April 2010 on a new replacement fire station, to be located on Polk Street.
The 8,900 square-foot facility will include three brand new bays and seven individual rooms for boarding, with the capability to house a “crash truck” for the neighboring Jacqueline Cochran Regional Airport.
In addition to better serving residents and creating 150-175 construction jobs, this facility will create the framework for the airport’s future expansion. As part of the project, a local access road to the airport, “58th Street,” will be constructed off Polk Street. The new road, water, sewer and electrical lines created for this project will act as catalysts for further development in the Thermal area.
The total project will cost an estimated $4.2 million with $3 million from the Development Impact Fees (DIF) – Fire Facilities Fund and just over $1.1 million from Riverside County Redevelopment Funds.
COMPLETED
Palm Desert Sheriff’s Station – Grand Opening October 12, 2010
Supervisor John J. Benoit joined Sheriff Stan Sniff, Supervisor Marion Ashley, county officials and community leaders at the grand opening and open house of the new Palm Desert Sheriff’s Station on Oct. 12. The station is located at 73-700 Gerald Ford Drive in the City of Palm Desert.
“This new station is conveniently accessible to the entire valley,” said Supervisor John J. Benoit. “The state-of-the-art headquarters is truly the pride of the Sheriff’s Department and will help deputies with the work they need to do.”
The 83,000-square-foot facility is the second-largest Sheriff’s station in Riverside County. It serves as the headquarters for about 220 Sheriff’s deputies and other staff for the contract cities of Indian Wells, Palm Desert and Rancho Mirage, which all moved from the 26,000-square-foot station at the Palm Desert Civic Center in August.
The station also serves the unincorporated communities of Andreas Hills, Joshua Tree National Park, North Palm Springs, Painted Hills, Sky Valley and Thousand Palms.
The $32,916,400 structure features skylights and solar panels, helping to reduce utility costs by 20 percent and becoming the first LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) silver certified building constructed by Riverside County.
Vastly improved features include interview rooms wired with audiovisual equipment and lockers with their own air-flow system to dry body armor. Other improvements include a heliport for emergency landings and a 19,784-square-foot evidence warehouse.
Ripley Fire Station – Completed March 2009
Construction for this fire station began in April 2007 and was completed in March 2009. The design consists of a two bay, rural, 4,600 square foot station. Budget: $3,150,000 (County of Riverside Asset Leasing: Debt Service through Fire Mitigation).
Roy Wilson Fire Station and Training Center – Dedicated November 14, 2009
The $11.5 million fire station includes a 3-bay, heavy urban 7,800-square-foot station with a four story training tower at the 4,500-square-foot Fire Technology Training Center. Hundreds of firefighters who work throughout Riverside County have received training at this center.
In addition to these major projects, construction on Thousand Palms Community Park expansion and improvements was completed in fall 2008. New basketball courts, upgraded tot lots, with shade structures, upgraded barbecues, decomposed granite trail, and new grassy areas are all a part of this expansion.