By Eric Curl
April 20, 2025 – The city is planning to construct a new police station on Louisville Road to serve Savannah’s Northwest Precinct, after getting notice that officers will have to move out of the current leased facility by the end of next year.
Last week, the city issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a qualified firm to manage the construction of the new police station at 1009 Louisville Road, an undeveloped 9-acre site the city has owned since 2004. The precinct will replace the current facility at 602 East Lathrop Avenue, which the city has been leasing since 2018.
The project involves the construction of a 19,000-square-foot single-story facility, the design of which will be generally based on SPD’s existing central precinct with the addition of an enclosed 16,000-square-foot garage. The design is expected to feature offices, a lobby and reception area, a community training room, a real-time crime center, interview rooms, fitness facilities and locker rooms.
View the preliminary site plan>
Construction is scheduled to begin early next year, with the temporary occupancy certificate anticipated by mid-December 2026. The timeline aligns with the recent lease extension for the current facility at 602 East Lathrop Avenue, which the Savannah City Council approved in February. The lease, originally set to expire at the end of 2025, has been extended through Dec. 31, 2026, with an annual rental cost of $420,787. However, the landlord has indicated that no further extensions will be available beyond this date, as the property owner is making other plans for the property, according to city officials.
“The project timeline is driven by the non-extendable lease expiration of the current Northwest Precinct at the end of 2026, and strict adherence to the schedule is critical,” the RFP states.
The RFP emphasizes the need for a construction manager with significant public safety construction experience, particularly in preconstruction planning, budgeting, value engineering, and adherence to a Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) to control costs effectively. The selected firm is expected to collaborate closely with city officials and design teams throughout the project, ensuring completion by January 2027. The construction budget has not yet been established but is expected to be in place by the time a pre-construction services agreement is awarded.
A previous city council approved the purchase of the project site in November 2004 as part of what was dubbed the “Westside Master Plan”, according to the meeting minutes. The 2004 minutes also stated that the property was needed by the city for mitigation purposes in order to utilize other properties being purchased for a proposed “Westside Municipal Complex on Stiles Avenue.”
The site is in a floodplain and will require substantial earthwork and stormwater installation to control runoff and prevent flooding, according to the RFP.
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