Consultants detail Torrington public-safety complex concept; estimate near $95 million
Loading...
Summary
Silver Petrucelli presented facility-condition assessments and a consolidated public-safety complex concept for Torrington, proposing a maximum program of about 94,500 sq ft and a conceptual cost near $95 million; firm and staff warned many immediate code and ADA upgrades remain at existing stations.
Chris, a principal at Silver Petrucelli and Associates, presented a multi-building facility-condition assessment and a feasibility study for a consolidated public-safety complex that would house police, fire, dispatch and potentially EMS. "We were tasked to look at bringing fire headquarters, police headquarters, dispatch and EMS into one facility," he said, summarizing a maximum conceptual program of roughly 94,500 square feet.
The consultants walked the council through condition reports for the Torrington Police Station (originally a 1903 school, renovated in 1990) and the fire headquarters (c. 1980, renovated 2010). They identified code- and ADA-driven immediate needs (priority 1), medium-term renovations and mechanical/electrical systems at or near the end of their useful life. For the police station, the team noted site and accessibility problems, failing masonry and windows, interior ADA noncompliance (including lack of an ADA-compliant holding cell) and MEP deterioration; the firm placed many items in higher priority ranks and produced hard-construction sums in the mid-millions for targeted corrective work.
The consultants presented hard-construction totals for the assessed line items at about $5.5 million (based on 2022 pricing) and said soft costs and contingencies brought the 2022 project total to roughly $10 million for the police-station renovation scenario. For a brand-new consolidated facility, they cited a program-driven conceptual cost near $95,000,000 — an order-of-magnitude estimate that reflects recent bids for emergency-service buildings in the $700–1,000 per-square-foot range and an anticipated 2027 construction start that requires escalation from earlier estimates. "This 90, almost 95,000 square foot facility [is] estimated at a total project cost of close to $95,000,000," Chris said.
Michelle, an architect on the team, stressed programmatic gains a consolidated facility would deliver: additional apparatus bay capacity for fire, expanded evidence and storage for police, more bunks and private bathrooms to accommodate changing staffing, a larger dispatch with overnight bunking, and shared training, fitness and wellness areas. The consultants estimated program additions of roughly 31,500 square feet over existing facilities (about a 50% increase for the fire and police spaces examined) and emphasized that optional items — such as an on-site firearms range or returning EMS facilities in-house — materially affect size and cost.
City staff and councilors pressed the presenters on whether priority-1 items already identified in earlier reports had been addressed. The facilities manager said some work had been completed (lighting upgrades, boiler replacement as part of an energy project, and emergency repairs to sprinkler piping) but acknowledged structural limits in older facilities that restrict the extent of upgrades without major renovation or replacement. The consultant reiterated that many energy-efficiency and layout goals cannot be met within the existing historic masonry and constrained footprints.
The presentation concluded with the consultants offering to provide comparative funding information (for example, funding sources used on Hartford's project) and to answer follow-up questions as the city considers whether to pursue site selection, programming refinements, or grant opportunities. The council did not take action on the concept at this meeting; the report was presented to inform next steps and potential grant-seeking.
