The long-cherished vision of a new City Hall and Police Station in Madras is a step closer to reality following a recent groundbreaking ceremony at the Fourth and E Streets site earmarked for the new civic facilities, anticipated to be constructed within the next 12 months.
Dignitaries in attendance included former Mayor Rick Allen who helped facilitate the original land swap with the school district to free up the central site several administrations earlier, and special guest USDA Under Secretary for Rural Development Dallas Tonsager, whose department is providing funds to help back the project.
The design, conceived by Steele Associates Architects, incorporates a 15,000 square foot structure to replace the dilapidated 7,000 square foot “cobbled together” buildings, (that lie in the flood way, are seismically unsafe and have been identified as grossly inefficient, outdated and inadequate to deal with the growing community’s needs), which currently house the city and police administrations.
A feature of the project will be a public plaza, flanking veterans’ memorials, with pavers depicting the confluence of the Deschutes, Metolius and Crooked Rivers flowing towards a central lobby linking the city and police wings and featuring wood truss and mountain silhouette accents reminiscent of the area’s history and topography.
Madras Police Chief Tom Adams said the new facility would provide an environment for his staff to work more safely and effectively, as well as strengthening morale and professionalism and offering wider community benefit, including economically through hosting training programs and conferences.
Allen hailed the long-term collaborative effort as “transformational” for the community, while Scott Steele added, “It is wonderful to see this project finally come to fruition to provide facilities the community deserves.
“I think the public plaza will also become an important gathering place, with the location giving a focus to downtown and serving as a catalyst for continued development in the city core area.”
CS Construction was the winning bidder for the project.
