The Murfreesboro Police Department opened its new state-of-the-art headquarters to the public Sunday. 

Replacing its 45-year-old current headquarters, the new police headquarters on Highland Avenue was built at a cost of $55.4 million, including architecture and furnishings. The final building is 10,614 square feet larger than the original 125,000 square feet estimated in 2012.

The relocation of the Police Department to  provides both interior and exterior space for expansion in a growing city and interjects new life to the area after the hospital and medical clinic relocated to the Gateway. The list of amenities and technical capabilities featured in the public tour of the new facility include:

• An 80-seat Community Room to the right of the main lobby with a large video screen for presentations and engaging the community.
• An 80-seat Training Room on first floor with teleconferencing capabilities.
• A 9-1-1 Communications Center on the second floor for emergency dispatch.
• A state-of-the-art multi-room Crime/Forensics Lab for processing evidence.
• An officer Roll Call Room with a large video screen for pre-shift briefings.
• A 360-degree Training Simulator for virtual officer scenario training.

In addition to these major features, the Police Headquarters building provides contemporary office and collaboration space along with technical work stations to meet the needs of a professional police workforce.

When the current headquarters at 302 S. Church St. was built in 1973, Murfreesboro’s population was less than 30,000 and has grown to over 128,000 people. The facility is designed to meet future growth from 260 sworn officers today to more than 400 personnel in the future. 

The City acquired the former Murfreesboro Medical Clinic (MMC) and acres located at 1004 Highland Avenue in December 2013 for $4.7 million.