New Lakeview police station set to open

For nearly 140 years, the landmark building at Addison and Halsted avenues has served as Lakeview’s police station. Built in 1870 at a cost of $17,000, the police station will soon move across the street, where a new $29 million facility is slated to be completed in late 2009.

The new station will be built immediately to the east of the current building, which is just three blocks from Wrigley Field. It will replace a current 32-unit residential building as well as the existing LeMoyne Elementary School parking lot. The residential building is currently fenced off awaiting demolition at the end of summer.

Also awaiting demolition is the police accessory building and a Midas store, which sit behind the current police station on Addison. At this location will be built a four-level, 400-spot parking garage that will house the work vehicles of the more than 250 police officers based at the Lakeview station. Now those police cars can be found throughout the Northside neighborhood, crowding an area where it’s a challenge to find a parking spot.

“I am happy that there will be a place for all the cop cars to park. It gets annoying having them in the streets all the time,” said Lakeview resident Dash Natale.

The remaining 150 spots will be used for the Center on Halsted, the Lakeview neighborhood’s newest building. The Center on Halsted is home to a recreation center, 150-seat theater, and several organizations that serve the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered community.

The new police station is part of Mayor Richard Daley’s Alive 21 program that’s building 11 new stations across the city. Since the first station was erected in 1999, the Public Buildings Commission has built six new stations, along with a new Chicago Police Headquarters located at 3510 S. Michigan Ave. All of the 11 stations will have the same 44,000 square-foot-layout, which means the Lakeview station will double in size.

“The Town Hall police station is so old. The new building will allow better technology, meeting rooms and many other things to help serve the area,” said Bennett Lawson, director of community outreach for 44th Ward Ald. Tom Tunney.

The new station also will have a community room with more than 100 seats for group functions, a video arraignment room, fitness room, roll call room and more.

The old police station is in the process of being designated a landmark, and the hope is that the building will be used for something else once the Chicago Police Department moves across the street.

“Since it has been around so long and is the original town of Lakeview station, there should not be a problem,” Lawson said.

The building will need to win approval from The Commission on Chicago Landmarks. The nine-member board is responsible for recommending to the Chicago City Council whether the building should be designated a landmark, which takes anywhere from eight to 12 months. Since 2005, there have been 259 Chicago landmarks added, according to the commission’s web site.

It hasn’t been decided what will take over the old police station.

“Nice retail, coffee shop would be just great there. The building has a lot of history, so many people should have the opportunity to go into it and enjoy it,” said David Winner, president of the Lakeview Citizens Council.