9/17/2005
Bennie Currie, (312) 744-9277
Mayor Richard M. Daley today unveiled the new Austin (15th District) Police Station — a state-of-the-art facility designed to help meet the needs of the community as well as the challenges of contemporary law enforcement.
The $15 million station, located at 5701 W. Madison Ave., was built by the Public Building Commission of Chicago (PBC), which is chaired by Mayor Daley.
The new 42,000-square-foot facility is more than twice the size of the existing 15th District station at 5327 W. Chicago Avenue, which was built in 1917.
“This is going to be a great addition to the Austin community,” Daley said. “Like the new Oscar De Priest School just around the corner, it will be a community anchor and a key element in Austin’s ongoing revitalization.”
Daley said the station was designed to be a welcoming place. “We want residents to come here regularly to meet with our police officers and work together – through our CAPS program – to address the challenges that face their communities.
“That’s how we’ve been able to keep the crime rate dropping year after year for more than a decade – by joining forces with the community, the police and other units of City government to remove the conditions that cause crime.”
Joining the Mayor were Chicago Police Superintendent Phil Cline, Executive Director Montel Gayles of the Public Building Commission and Ald. Isaac Carothers (29th Ward).
The new station offers features that add to the Chicago Police Department’s technology initiatives essential in crime reduction as well as the department’s commitment to community policing:
- A new computerized command center.
- High-tech roll call rooms enhance presentations during briefing and training sessions.
- A community meeting room will promote neighborhood involvement.
- A fitness room and updated locker room facilities will help meet the needs of the police department’s changing workforce.
