FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The new Fayetteville Police headquarters officially opened to the public on Monday, May 1, at 7 am.
The new facility will be located at 1800 N. Stephen Carr Memorial Blvd. The original facility was located at 100 W. Rock St. in downtown Fayetteville and was operating there since July 1993.
Visitors can access the lobby after normal operating hours on an as-needed basis and use an intercom system to contact dispatch. Both on and off-street parking will be available for visitors.
"The architecture was kind of based off of the Walton Arts Center, and Theater Squared, the front lobby area is very inviting," said Fayetteville Officer Sgt. Anthony Murphy.
Fayetteville voters approved a bond measure in April 2019 to fund this project, and the construction began on approximately 82,500 square feet. secured in February 2021.
"Just leaving the old PD after working somewhere for so long is a big change ... but it was greatly needed. We just moved from a 25,000 square foot, retrofitted JC Penney's," Sgt. Murphy said.
"It's very streamlined. I know my unit [was] very cramped ... There was lots of stuff everywhere because we had nowhere to put anything and now we have plenty of space to put stuff in," he added.
"It was kind of hard to get around quickly because you were driving through the entertainment district, lots of traffic and stuff like that," Sgt. Murphy said. "You can get to North Fayetteville or South Fayetteville either way. So it's centrally located."
The new building has an indoor shooting range, a workout room, and many other spacious training and meeting rooms.
Fayetteville Police says its new facility is fully ADA accessible, and includes several areas capable of hosting public meetings while offering increased space, safety, and security for officers and staff.
"We spent a lot of money sending officers to training— whether it be local or out of state and since we have this big training area that we can utilize, hopefully we can get some training opportunities here," Sgt. Murphy said.
Security measures are noticeable throughout the building with gates, cameras, and many locked doors and barriers. Sgt. Murphy explained that safety was a top priority for the city after the killing of Stephen Carr.
"When they decided to rename Porter Road, as Stephen Carr Memorial Boulevard, it was a huge deal for not just me, but everyone that works for the police department, all the citizens of Fayetteville," Sgt. Murphy said, recognizing how meaningful the new facility is. "If everyone remembers back in 2019, December 7, when that happened, and the weeks that followed, it was a community outpouring of support. And I think the community really heard from it. And I think they still do, and I think it's special to everybody that was involved in that."
This new facility won't only be for Fayetteville police training. The public is also invited to participate in their citizen's police academy. Classes have not been scheduled yet, but when they are you'll find them on the police department's website.
A building dedication ceremony and community tour plans will be announced later this month.
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