The new Louisville Metro Police Department headquarters is one step closer to opening its doors.
Calhoun Construction Services Inc. has been selected as the construction manager for the $27 million project, that will renovate the former AT&T building at 601 W. Chestnut St., according to a permit filed with Louisville Metro Planning and Design.
As the construction manager, Calhoun will bid out the work in phases, Calhoun President John Hinshaw told Business First. Demolition and prepping crews have been working in the building for months, he said, with the new build out construction set to begin this month. Phase one of the renovations are expected to take a year.
Brian Medley, project manager at Louisville Metro Office of Facilities & Fleet Management, is leading the project for the city, Hinshaw said. Medley did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Bought for $6.8M in 2021, the new headquarters will replace LMPD’s current temporary facility and put LMPD under one roof for the first time in a generation.
The 123,950-square foot building will receive interior and exterior renovations to the basement, first, third and fourth floors, according the filing, as well as new roofing, exterior repaving of the parking lot and new gates and fencing.
The project is being funded by $13 million allocated in 2022 and $14 million of American Rescue Plan funding.
In a statement, LMPD told Louisville Business First “We are excited and look forward to the completion of the new LMPD Headquarters project. It will lend itself to increasing effectiveness and efficiency in providing services to our city.”
Beyond function, the new LMPD Headquarters will go a long way in improving, reforming and strengthening the department, according to a 2023 news release. Reform advocates have previously recommended LMPD centralize their headquarters, adding that implementing any needed reforms will be more effective with a new facility that accommodates more officers.
The work begins on the new headquarters as LMPD transitions to new leadership. Last month, Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg named Paul Humphrey LMPD’s permanent chief, three months after he was appointed to the role in an interim capacity following the suspension, and later resignation, of former chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel. Humphrey is the department’s sixth leader since 2020.
Calhoun will begin renovations on its own new headquarters in January, after buying a more than 96,000-square-foot building at 1703 S. Brook Street near the University of Louisville for $4.2 million. The company’s offices are currently located on National Turnpike. Calhoun expects to move into its new offices in May, Hinshaw said.
Calhoun is Louisville’s third-largest general contractor, according to Louisville Business First research, with $256.24 million of work billed in 2023, up from $206.39 million in 2022. That makes Calhoun, which has more than 150 employees, one of the region’s 50 fastest-growing companies.
The firm provides construction management, facility maintenance, pre-construction, trade contracting, design build, flooring and renewable energy services, according to the company’s website. Calhoun has done work for Churchill Downs, including its new paddock, and was recently awarded contracts for an aquatic center in Bardstown, two high school athletic facilities in Bullitt County and an LG&E operations center in Lexington, Hinshaw said.