NEW ALBANY, Indiana — For the last 150 years, the New Albany Police Department went without a place of it's own until now.
"We're getting a new home!" Police Chief Todd Bailey said.
Wednesday, the department broke ground at it's new location. A historic move that brought Bailey to tears.
"I'm sorry, this is an emotional day for me," he said. "We worked really hard on this to make this happen."
Since 1994, NAPD has operated out of the Floyd County Criminal Justice Center and several other offices. Bailey said he stressed the need for more space over the years, but each time he was met with the same response.
"'What you have is fine. Don't you think you should just wait to build? Or you should just merge with others.' Well I disagree," he said.
New Albany City Council disagreed as well. Back in January, members approved plans for the nearly $13 million project.
The department's new headquarters will be located on the corner of East Spring Street and Scribner Drive. It will have a training room, command center, more storage and garage space.
"This will bring everybody under one roof, which is really important," Bailey said. "Provide service to our community. And we'll even do it better."
Officials expect construction of the new headquarters to be complete by next year.
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