Philly police headquarters moving to former Inquirer building on North Broad

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 The Philadelphia Police Department will move to the former Inquirer building on North Broad Street by 2020. (Emma Lee/WHYY)

The Philadelphia Police Department will move to the former Inquirer building on North Broad Street by 2020. (Emma Lee/WHYY)

After spending $50 million preparing to move the Philadelphia Police Department headquarters to West Philly, the city has decided on North Broad Street instead.  

The Nutter administration wanted to establish police headquarters in a building at 46th and Market streets, but the Kenney administration has determined that former Inquirer building at Broad and Callowhill is a better location.  City officials said Wednesday the iconic white building offers 100,000 square feet of extra space.  The plan is to consolidate services including the morgue, police and fire communications, and the 6th and 9th Police Districts.

Anne Fadullon, director of city planning and development, said the extra space and an adjacent parking garage tipped the scales in favor of the North Broad Street location.

“We anticipate occupying the building in the second quarter of 2020,” she said.

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Police Commissioner Richard Ross said Wednesday he is in favor of moving to a more centralized location.

“This is a good thing for the police department, for the city and the administration, and I applaud the move,” he said.

Once the department has moved to the new building, the city will sell the current police headquarters at Eighth and Race … along with two other city facilities.

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