Police, Other City Departments Move to Crow Canyon Road

The San Ramon Police Department and several other city agencies will be moving from their cramped quarters at City Hall to new digs this weekend.

Their new home, about 1.5 miles west of existing city offices, will be a 61,270-square-foot building at 2401 Crow Canyon Road that the city purchased for $7.1 million last year.

After a few million dollars in renovations, the total cost came to roughly $10 million.

In addition to the Police Department, the city’s Planning, Engineering, Transportation and Economic Development departments will move to the building, too, which lies just off of Crow Canyon Road down a shaded drive.

The city plans to use the Crow Canyon Road space to house the departments until the $700 million City Center, which is on hold because of the recession, is completed.

The Police Department in particular has been cramped in its old location, where it has been for more than 20 years. The department had resorted to renting additional space throughout the city to accommodate its 58 officers, 22 civilian employees and equipment.

“We didn’t require as much space years ago, but now ... there are safety issues in terms of having the staff in such a small space,” said city spokeswoman Cheryl Wade. “Doors and desks didn’t open, there was no space for storage or for evidence – it just became unsafe.”

The Police Department won’t have to worry about space in the new building – it will have its own 36,000-square-foot wing.

“The Police Department is larger – we have more needs than other agencies,” said Lt. Dan Pratt. “Realistically, we don’t need all the space – but it will save money not having to retrofit by segmenting things – there’s minor changes needed for our purposes.”

Most of the Police Department and other agencies will move in this weekend, with the police administrators and police chief following on July 15.

While the Police Department fills up the south wing, the north wing will be split up between the remaining departments, including a new permit center that will open Tuesday.

It hasn’t been decided what the city will do with the empty space at the old City Hall, but Wade said that the new building could easily be sold or leased when departments move to the completed city center.