Massachusetts Debuts $17.6M Police Station

By Lisa Kopochinski

BUZZARDS BAY, Mass. — The Bourne Police Department has officially moved into its new $17.6 facility in Buzzards Bay, a census-designated place in the town of Bourne in Barnstable County.

The new building—which took nearly two years to complete—includes a training room/Emergency Operations Center, dispatch center, secure prisoner processing and detention area, 3-car, drive-thru sally port, secure evidence processing and storage area, roll call room, fitness area, offices and a firing range.

The new station was built on town-owned land along the bypass road in Buzzards Bay, near the old National Guard armory by Queen Sewell Park. The total area of the new building is less than 26,000 square feet, but roughly triple the size of the original station.

O’Connor Contracting was the general contractor on this impressive project. Kaestle Boos was the architect. The firm was commissioned to assist the Town of Bourne with the development of preliminary plans for a new police station to replace the existing antiquated facility

“It’s nice to see the end result of all the work we put into it,” said Chief Dennis Woodside, in a statement. “There’s still a lot to do.”

Most recently, the 911 phone system was moved over to the new site at 35 Armory Road in Buzzards Bay, along with equipment from the former office.

Woodside said there were a few lags in construction of the police station because of the coronavirus pandemic. Some unions temporarily halted work and some equipment was delayed from overseas.

Originally built in 1959, the former police station at 175 Main St. was added onto several times, including a second-floor addition in 1978.

The old station had numerous problems, including an evidence room prone to flooding, asbestos throughout the older portions of the building, a sally port that was too small to hold modern police cruisers and its location in a flood zone. Additionally, plumbing, mechanical and electrical systems were outdated.

There was also no secure location from which to bring prisoners into the station, and the building did not meet federal Americans with Disabilities Act requirements.

“To say it is a night-and-day difference is an understatement,” Woodside said.

A 2009 report commissioned by the Cecil Group called the police station the worst public building in town.

In October 2016, Bourne residents voted to approve funding the project with taxpayer dollars. A groundbreaking ceremony was held in September 2018.