A new police station for North Ridgeville is on the horizon following the successful 2021 0.81-mill bond issue for the $12.5-million new facility that will include a 21,326-square-foot station and 7,800-square-foot evidence storage building. Police Chief Mike Freeman says the building’s location is ideal.
“We are close to the schools, and our children are the most important asset this community has,” he says.
Two school resource officers are staffed on the school campus daily. With the new police station a couple minutes away, “We could easily have eight officers on campus within a very short
period of time,” Freeman says.
The new police station was a necessity for fast-growing North Ridgeville, Freeman adds. “We’re no longer a sleepy small-town community, and when I leave [this position], my guess is we’ll have 50,000 residents — and the building of this police station gives us an opportunity to accommodate that future growth,” he says.
The pre-engineered metal storage building, which saves cost, will include spaces for cars, a kennel for lost dogs and an evidence processing and drying room along with storage. Architectural Vision Group (AVG) drew up the plans for this and the police station facility.
“Now, we are in the construction bidding stage,” Freeman says.
Groundbreaking and construction will follow for an expected 18 months to two years. “People are proud of it, and as a stakeholder in this community, we want people to be proud of their community.”
