T H E B I G H O U S E T H A T G I L R O Y B U I L T
The first time you see the new Gilroy Police Station you may think that there must be a mistake because the building is so big.“ It must belong to some other BIG city, not little old Gilroy.” But, wait a minute. Let’ s step back and get some perspective! Gilroy is one of the fastest growing cities in Santa Clara County. Unofficial projections put the population at 50,000 and continued controlled growth is expected. So, Gilroy has gone from a sleepy little farm town to a significant and desirable residential community with a growing retail and industrial base and this is, after all, a government building. It takes years of planning and paper shuffling to build this type of facility, so what you build had better be around for a while, a long while.
With this in mind, the new Gilroy Police Station can easily be referred to as“ a station for Gilroy’ s future”. No one can question that the police department had outgrown the old station. The building might be a little big for now but Gilroy will grow into it, and grow into it, and grow into it. The new station is expected to serve the needs of the community for the next thirty years.
The old station at 18,000 square feet is dwarfed by the sheer size of the new station. The second floor which houses all the offices and support functions is 45,000 square feet over 58,000 square feet of parking and storage. Originally the parking area was to have been a basement below grade but that plan proved to be too expensive. The parking area also holds a new jail facility. Currently the jail only functions as a 12 hour holding jail but as needs change, it could become a Type 1 jail that could hold people short term while they await a hearing. The exterior entrance to the jail is controlled by a“ sally port.” Officers can drive in
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