City to Sell Pa. Police Patrol Station Despite Concerns from Union

Allentown City Council has agreed to sell the police patrol station on 10th and Hamilton streets despite concerns from the city’s Fraternal Order of Police president.

The vote was 4-3, with council President Cynthia Mota, Vice President Santo Napoli, and members Daryl Hendricks and Candida Affa voting in favor of the sale, and members Ce-Ce Gerlach, Ed Zucal and Natalie Santos against it.

City officials say the sale of the patrol station, which is in disrepair, will help kickstart efforts to renovate and build an addition to the central police headquarters at 425 Hamilton St., six blocks away from the patrol station. The city is in talks with Don Wenner, owner of the DLP Capital Plaza building, to lease out a temporary space on the building’s ground floor for patrol officers to work from during construction, but has not finalized any specific relocation plans.

However, FOP President Dave Benner said that patrol officers lack trust in city leaders to find them an adequate, temporary new patrol location while renovations at 425 Hamilton are ongoing.

“We’re wasting time and money on this move, and it’s not even what they want and they don’t feel it is adequate,” Benner said, and added that he believes about 90% of patrol officers oppose a temporary move. “They don’t have any faith any of this is going to happen.”

He said officers would prefer to stay at the current patrol station, even though it is in bad shape, until renovations to central headquarters are complete.

The building at 1007 Hamilton St. is home to the city’s police patrol station, and therefore where many police officers and vehicles are located. The city bought the building from the parking authority in 2010. It was constructed in 1939 and has been plagued by issues such as pests and roof leaks.

“I share deeply the concerns of what Officer Benner talks about,” said police Chief Charles Roca. “The current facility is not up to snuff for our police officers. Every time I go into that building, it brings me down.”

City Council in August approved the hire of Alvin H. Butz to oversee construction of the new police headquarters. The $30 million renovation and addition to the existing police building will bring all officers “under one roof,” a longtime goal of Roca’s.

According to the city resolution approving the sale, the city will make at least $750,000 from the sale to the parking authority, which is how much it paid for the building in 2010. The parking authority then could redevelop the land or sell it to a private developer.

The exact timeline of a possible sale is not yet clear; approving the resolution is only the first step toward selling the building. City Council also amended the resolution to require that a new developer not take occupancy of the 10th and Hamilton station until “adequate” alternative arrangements for police officers were secured.

“It’s going to take a long time, if there is a prospective buyer to this building, until it gets through all the approvals, [the newly renovated police building] could be built or close to being built,” said community and economic development director Vicki Kistler. “For this many years they have been exposed to this; they need a better, safer place to be.”

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