CLEVELAND — It could be back to the drawing board for a planned new Cleveland police headquarters.
Last December, city leaders held a ceremonial groundbreaking for the project at the intersection of East 75th and Opportunity Corridor.
But 11 months later, the city is once again looking for potential sites for the building.
According to a request for proposals, the city is searching for a 250,000-square-foot building with 450 secure parking spaces and room for another 50 public parking spaces.
The 57-page document also specifies the city is looking for a location within a 2.5-mile radius of city hall.
The current site, which sits largely untouched and overgrown with weeds since the groundbreaking last December, is about four miles from city hall.
So what about that site?
The city’s chief operating officer said a lot has changed since the location was selected in 2019 and that the city wants to see if a new location could save time and money on the project.
“There’s new opportunities from when they originally made the decision because of the real estate market in Cleveland and because of the cost to construct,” said COO Bonnie Teeuwen.
Teeuwen does not believe the additional site searching will delay the project.
She hopes a decision as to where the build the new headquarters will be reached by the end of the year.
The city has already spent more than $7 million on planning for the new project.
Teeuwen said much of that work can be utilized wherever the new headquarters ends up.
