Prior to commencing design work on the new Athens Police Building, the City asked RHAID to assist in reviewing five potential sites for the project. After evaluating all five sites, a City-owned tract of land adjacent to the existing Police Building was recommended and approved by the City Council. The recommendation was based on several factors that included lower site development costs, location in relationship to downtown, a re-useable existing communication tower, a positive economic impact on the surrounding area, and no land purchase costs. The new 17,000 square foot building houses all of the City’s police functions including administration, patrol, criminal investigations, records, property/evidence, dispatch/communications, and locker rooms. In addition, the building contains a multi-purpose training room and as serves as an emergency operations center.

For economic reasons, a pre-engineered metal building system was chosen as the primary structural system for the building. The exterior walls include 7’-0” veneer brick with metal panels above. The brick veneer provided bullet resistant protection down low as needed while the metal panels were an economical solution for the upper portion of the walls.