DAYTON — The Dayton Police Department broke ground on a new police station on Wednesday.
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As reported on News Center 7 at 6:00, the new West Patrol Operation Division will be located off West Third Street, near Abbey and Brooklyn Avenues.
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The building will be on the same site as the historic Wright Brothers Airplane Factory and surrounded by a half-dozen West Dayton neighborhoods.
Community members think it could encourage additional development in the area.
“Neighborhood needs it, Third Street needs it, the City of Dayton needs it,” Eva Boddie said.
Boddie lives in the city’s Western Hills neighborhood and the officers assigned to this new facility will patrol her street.
She believes the city and police department are sending the right message to people on the west side.
“I’m looking after your homes with you, I’m looking after your children with you, I’m looking after everything around with you, I can see what you’ve been calling about, I can see it now,” Boddie said.
She said it’s time to get the department and the community on the same page.
City leaders hope this facility will be a new beginning, signaling a commitment to the community and its officers.
This is the police department’s first state-of-the-art facility in at least 30 years.
“It really is very centrally located for the services that we apply to our community,” Dayton Police Department Chief Kamran Afzal said.
Officials say the Dayton Metro Library West Branch is already on this site, so the new police station will anchor the redevelopment efforts.
“The people get to see them in a more personal, but business and professional way. Win-win,” Boddie said.
The city is also working to secure federal funding to restore the Wright Brothers Factory from fire damage.
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