For Immediate Release
January 7, 2020
ALBANY, NY – Albany Police Chief Eric Hawkins today announced that the Albany Police Department has recently entered into a building lease agreement with the owner of 215 Washington Avenue Extension, a two story commercial building that will be utilized to enhance the Albany Police Academy and enable the department to hire more police officers. The building’s first floor which is approximately 8,200 square feet will be dedicated to a new state of the art training facility for police recruits attending the six month police academy, as well as office space for the Training Unit, Computer Technology Unit, Administrative Services Unit and Central Records. The leased space on the second floor, which is approximately 1,500 square feet, will consist of office space for the Fiscal Unit and Fleet Management.
“As the Albany Police Department prepares to hire its fifth session of Albany police recruits, this newly leased facility brings exciting opportunities to the department and the community we serve,” said Albany Police Chief Eric Hawkins. “The new state of the art training academy will ensure that the department continues to deliver high quality training to police recruits while also allowing the agency to hire larger classes to fill police officer vacancies.”
Renovations will begin on the first floor within the next couple of weeks and are expected to take several months before an official move takes place. The cost of the lease is approximately $12,000 a month and includes the costs for renovations.
The current police academy building, which is located at 223 Washington Avenue Extension, is only able accommodate 20 police recruits at a time. The new facility will allow the department to hire and train up to 50 police recruits. The department still intends to utilize the current police academy building for annual in-service training for both sworn and non-sworn personnel.
Updates on the newly acquired building will be released as they become available. Tours of the new facility will also be conducted once construction and renovations are officially completed.
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