Thermal Sheriff’s Station – 85% Completion

This project is a 77,000-square-foot facility that will include a forensic center and will serve the Eastern Coachella Valley. This project site is east of Polk Street, on the south side of Airport Boulevard in Thermal. The project will also include a 12,000 gallon fueling station for Sheriff’s vehicles.
 

Palm Desert Sheriff’s Station – Grand Opening & Open House October 12, 2010 10:30 a.m.
 

Supervisor John J. Benoit will join Sheriff Stan Sniff, county officials, and community leaders at the grand opening and open house of the new Palm Desert Sheriff’s Station to be held on Oct. 12 at 10:30 a.m.  The station is located at 73-700 Gerald Ford Drive in the City of Palm Desert.

The 82,000 square-foot facility is one of the largest Sheriff’s stations in Riverside County, headquarters for about 220 Sheriff’s deputies and other staff who serve the Cities of Indian Wells, Palm Desert, Rancho Mirage, and unincorporated communities north of I-10.  The three police agencies moved out of the former 26,000 square-foot station at Palm Desert Civic Center in Aug.

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.
 

Mecca Fire Station and Post Office – Ready For Bids Late Summer
 

Both the Mecca Fire Station and the Post Office will relocate from individual current sites to new facilities that are to be constructed near the Library/Sheriff facility. The site that will be developed for this purpose has been acquired by the RDA and relocation is complete on the fire station site. The new facilities will further establish a government and service corridor along Avenue 66 and anchored by other RDA construction projects. The design will comply with the Downtown Revitalization Plan and will complement the Spanish Colonial flavor of newly constructed commercial and service centers.
 

Thermal Fire Station - Groundbreaking April 15, 2010
 

Supervisor John J. Benoit joined county officials and community leaders at the groundbreaking of Thermal Fire Station #39 in a ceremony held on Thursday, April 15 at 10:00 a.m.  The site is located in Thermal, just off of Polk Street where the proposed “58th Street” road will soon be built.

Thermal Fire Station #39, built in the 1950s, is presently located at 56-925 Vic Higgins Street.  The new 8,900 square-foot facility will include three brand new bays and seven individual rooms for boarding and serve the expanding Thermal area and growing Jacqueline Cochran Regional Airport.  The station will also lend itself to further expansion if needed, with the capability to house a “crash truck” for the neighboring airport.  As part of the project, a local access road to the airport will also be created with the addition of 58th Street coming off of Polk Street.

The new Thermal Fire Station is expected to be completed in early summer 2011.  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.
 

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, in Thousand Palms, includes a 3-bay, heavy urban 7,800 square foot station with a 4,500 square foot Fire Technology Training Center, complete with a four story training tower.  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.