As construction begins, cost of Bjarke Ingels’ South Bronx police station jumps to $68M

Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Tuesday that construction has officially begun on the new police station coming to the 40th Precinct in the South Bronx. The Bjarke Ingels-designed station house, located in Melrose at East 149th Street and St. Anne’s Avenue, will boast the first community event space ever to be at an NYPD facility.

When Ingels was selected as the architect in 2013 (the project’s second firm chosen after the first contract expired), the estimated cost was $57.7 million with a 2020 deadline. After the construction period was extended from two to three years, the cost of the total project jumped to $68 million and the station will now open in the spring of 2021. “This new precinct will strengthen the bond between community and police, which will ultimately help make the South Bronx and our City safer,” de Blasio said in a press release.

The 42,000 square foot facility will replace an existing station house currently at 138th Street. The updated building will have a dedicated space for the community, designed to be flexible and multi-purpose. The 40th Precinct station will include areas for fitness and training for officers, including a climbing wall, as well as plenty of storage space for gear and vehicles.

According to Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), the design of stacked boxes can be read as “bricks, referencing the rusticated bases of early NYC precinct station houses.”

The building is designed to meet certified LEED Silver requirements and will feature a planted green roof to reduce stormwater runoff. This will be NYPD’s first green roof ever. All program areas and entrances will face toward the central atrium, which features clerestory windows at the upper levels to make it feel open and bright.

Facing street level, the open community center is designed to create more accessibility to the police station for locals and enhance relationships between the community and police officers.

“We’re on this path together, and we’re thrilled that this neighborhood will finally get the station house it needs, and the access to its police department it deserves,” Police Commissioner James O’Neill said.

RELATED: 

• Bjarke Ingels Is Designing a $50M NYPD Station House in the South Bronx
• Starchitect-Designed Public Projects Are Often Long Delayed and Way Over Budget
• Get a first look at the amenities at Bjarke Ingels’ High Line towers

All Images via BIG