Anchorage Police Department to expand headquarters

Several divisions will move from Elmore Road to the heart of downtown

ANCHORAGE, AK – On Monday, the Board of Directors for the Anchorage Community Development Authority (ACDA) voted to accept Anchorage Police Department’s (APD) letter of intent to lease the building at 716 West 4th Avenue for an expanded headquarters location. ACDA announced its decision to purchase this property from Everbank in May.

“APD has been in desperate need of additional space to house its staff, as well as property and evidence storage,” said Chief Justin Doll. “The expansion to 716 will address our pressing need, as well as extend APD’s physical presence in the community, with two major locations in Anchorage—on Elmore and Downtown.”

Several APD divisions will move to the new location, including command, detectives, crime suppression, some administration, and elements of patrol. Dispatch, records and classifying, property and evidence, most of IT, and the crime lab will remain at the Elmore location, which will be reconfigured to meet the needs of those divisions.

“716 is a unique space that was purpose built for government offices,” said ACDA director Andrew Halcro. “APD is a turnkey tenant and is able to move into the building with very few improvements. This is great news for ACDA, who will immediately have a stable tenant in a key location in downtown Anchorage.”

Prior to this location becoming available, APD had been exploring new construction options to address the overwhelming need for additional evidence and property storage. This move will allow for a redesign of the Elmore location instead, and will save the Municipality a significant amount of money long term. 2009 estimates for a new APD campus were around $67 million, and included a three-phase construction plan.

“It will be great for Anchorage to have APD in more than one location in our city,” said Mayor Ethan Berkowitz. “This move brings APD back downtown, helps to revitalize our city’s core, and saves the taxpayers money in avoided operating and construction costs.” APD was originally located at the corner of 6th Avenue and C Street, but moved to the Elmore location in 1986.

ACDA will continue the due diligence process and expects to close on 716 by early August.

Media contacts:

MJ Thim, Anchorage Police Department, mthim@muni.org, (907) 786-8571

Melinda Gant, Anchorage Community Development Authority, mgant@acda.net, (907) 280-7456

Kristin DeSmith, Office of the Mayor, desmithk@muni.org, (907) 231-2226