Community celebrates new North Patrol Division station
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KCPD Media Unit
816-234-5170
Community members, police and city officials celebrated the grand opening of the new North Patrol Division station with tours and a ribbon-cutting ceremony on June 23.
“This facility replaces the rather iconic building at Barry Road and 169 Highway that many of you affectionately have known as the ‘Bumblebee,’” Interim Chief of Police David Zimmerman said. “Well-known as it may be, that building could no longer function as one of our police stations.”
When it opened in 1976, about 15 people were assigned to North Patrol Division. Commensurate with the area’s population growth, there are now 95 KCPD members assigned to North Patrol, making it extremely cramped. In addition to its size, the old building has limited parking, security issues, and a detention area that was no longer usable.
The new station at 11000 N.W. Prairie View Road sits on nine acres adjacent to the KCI Airport. The land already was City-owned. At 26,500 square feet, it is 77 percent larger than the “Bumblebee.” The construction cost of the project was $9 million and was funded by the Public Safety Sales Tax voters approved in 2010. This is the final police capital project of that tax. Combined with the first sales tax approved in 2002, the City and KCPD have replaced five aging police stations, remodeled the nearly 80-year-old Headquarters building, and constructed a new Crime Lab, Evidence Warehouse, Police Academy and Multi-Purpose Building.
As the first Kansas City Police station in Platte County, the new North Patrol will serve the growing west side of the Northland.
“The Northland is approximately 40 percent developed at this point, with a strong potential for population growth and commercial development,” Second District City Councilmember Dan Fowler said. “The 15,000-acre Twin Creeks development east of the KCI Airport is expected to grow the population of KCMO and Platte County by 70,000 people during the next 20 years, according to the Platte County Economic Development Council. It is likely the North Patrol Division officers would serve all of those people.”
Community members who attended the ribbon-cutting event had the opportunity to get a behind-the-scenes tour of the station in areas that won’t be open to the public. They also got to see community amenities that weren’t available at the old station, such as a community meeting space and outdoor patio for public use.
Although the ribbon-cutting and open-house took place June 23, the new North Patrol will not open for business until 6 a.m. June 28. Residents can still respond to the old station at 1001 N.W. Barry Road until 6 a.m. June 26 to make or retrieve a report. North Patrol will be closed for the move between those two times. If they need to go to a police station during that time, residents can go to any other patrol division, with the nearest being Shoal Creek at 6801 Pleasant Valley Rd. North Patrol officers will continue to respond to calls and patrol as normal during the move.
In fact, residents and businesses throughout North Patrol Division should not expect any change in response times with the change in the station’s location. Officers are dispatched from wherever they are on the streets, not from the station.
The new station was designed by Treanor Architects and built by Turner Construction. It has many features to improve officers’ and staff members’ safety, efficiency and comfort.
Visitors to the station will notice the One Percent for Art piece to the right of the main entrance. The granite sculpture by Frank Swanson is titled “To Serve and Protect” and is intended to convey the strong relationship between the Kansas City Missouri Police Department and the community it serves.
The old “Bumblebee” station at 1001 N.W. Barry Rd. is for sale.