Project to Build Modern Combined Public Safety Center Advances; City Retains Architect to Lead Study, Design and Construction

The City has retained an award-winning architectural firm to lead the study, design and construction of a new South End Public Safety Center which will house fire, police, and emergency medical services in a single facility, modernizing and better coordinating New Bedford’s public safety services. The City selected “The Galante Architecture Studio,” (TGAS) to provide architectural and engineering services to guide the project through the next several development phases including conducting a needs assessment, site selection, facility design and construction.

The firm has extensive experience designing public safety facilities all across the country including for the City of Boston and Boston Fire Department, the City of New York, FDNY, the City of Chelsea, Massachusetts, the City of Davenport, Iowa and Harvard University among others.

“New Bedford now has an experienced architectural firm onboard to help lead the design of the City’s first modern combined public safety center and the first fire station to be built in New Bedford in more than 60 years,” said Mayor Jon Mitchell.

Mayor Mitchell established a South End Public Safety Center Building Committee to work with the design firm to ensure the combined public safety center is well-designed within the established budget and maximizes New Bedford’s public safety response capabilities. The Committee includes: City Council President and Ward 6 City Councilor Joseph Lopes; City Director of Facilities and Fleet Management, Kenneth Blanchard; New Bedford Police Chief Joseph Cordeiro; New Bedford Fire Chief Michael Gomes; Chief Financial Officer Ari Sky; Assistant Chief of Staff to Mayor Jon Mitchell, Christina Connelly; South End neighborhood leaders Loretta Bourque and Celine Saraiva. Last week the design firm met with committee members to begin the needs assessment phase of the project and received input from the committee that will inform its development of thorough site and building layout proposals.

Last February, the Mayor and City Council announced New Bedford would invest in a new, modern south end public safety center to serve as the operations base for those police, fire and emergency medical services currently provided by Fire Station 6 on Purchase Street built in 1882, and Fire Station 11 on Brock Avenue built in 1907, as well as Police Station 2 on Cove Street which was originally constructed as a library. The combined modern public safety center was recommended by the independent public safety facilities review conducted by FACETS in 2015. The City’s 2016 capital bond included $500,000 for the feasibility study and design activities.