New public safety, municipal complex coming to Pineville

PINEVILLE, La. (KALB) - A new public safety and judicial complex is coming to Pineville. It will be the new home of the Pineville Police Department and the Pineville City Court.

“It really is an investment on a corridor that is so important to downtown Pineville and downtown Alexandria,” explained Mayor Rich Dupree.

Mayor Dupree believes the project for a new municipal complex will enhance downtown Pineville and the surrounding area. The plans include demolishing the existing court building to build a new public safety and judicial center.

The Pineville Police Department will move from City Hall to this new complex, and City Hall itself will be renovated in its existing building.

The Pineville City Council recently voted on a resolution that awarded the design contract to Alexandria architecture firm Ashe, Broussard, and Weinzettle, putting this project into motion.

The Capital Outlay request to improve the municipal buildings, which were built in the 70′s, was made by then-Mayor Clarence Fields over two years ago.

“Building a new municipal complex to get our police department out of a dungeon, to get our court system out of a shoe box, is something that Mayor Fields and I thought was worth pursuing,” said Dupree.

The total cost of the project would cost around 15 million dollars, with a little over 12 million coming from the state in Capital Outlay funds. The city would be responsible for the rest, which is about 2.5 million dollars and would be paid by taxpayers.

“I really don’t believe that you’re going to see the taxpayer being charged any more than what they’re already paying,” explained Mayor Dupree. “It’s just going to be a better use of their taxpayer money.”

The mayor also claims that this project will not pull away from other help allocated toward items like roads or drainage.

“This particular money comes out of a totally different pot of money, it doesn’t rob Peter, to pay Paul,” Dupree said. “It just takes advantage of other money that the state has that they are putting towards their municipalities, which is something we have wanted them to do all along.”

If everything goes according to plan, the mayor said they hope to break ground within 18 months.

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