New Plaistow, N.H., police building. (Courtesy photograph.)
Plaistow, N.H., has partially opened its new $8.5 million John D. Fitzgerald Safety Complex.
According to Plaistow Police, the dispatch center in the new 14,000-square foot building at 27 Elm St is open. The next step will be for the Fire Department to move into the former police station next door.
Groundbreaking for the new building took place almost a year ago, following voters’ approval of the project about seven months earlier. A formal celebration and tours will take place when the project is completed.
Plaistow’s Public Safety Complex Building Committee coordinated work over the past decade “to identify and address significant deficiencies with the existing police facility.” Security and overcrowding issues at the current police station were cited by reviews “against evolving industry standards, best practices and recently constructed facilities throughout New Hampshire and Massachusetts.” Deficiencies also identified at the fire station include lack of adequate ventilation in locker areas doubling as laundry and storage space, as well as a lack of adequate space for fire officers and administration support staff due in part to reconfigured building uses.