A groundbreaking ceremony was held Thursday for a new Patrol East substation for the Wichita police department. The facility is being constructed at Lincoln and Pinecrest, and it will replace the current facility at Kellogg and Edgemoor.
City Council member Mike Hoheisel said the police department has far outgrown the facility on Edgemoor, and there was a robust discussion with input from the public on where to locate the new substation. He said input was collected from more than 200 people in the neighborhood, and an overwhelming majority approved the new location. The substation is being built on a five-acre property near the former Southeast High School.
Hoheisel said the new Patrol East substation will be around 24,000 square feet and it will provide space for 150 staff members. It will have a public reception area, space for law enforcement operations, a fitness area, locker rooms and evidence processing and storage. The station is being constructed with $9.2 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding.
Captain Jason Stephens, the Patrol East commander, said the new facility will uphold the department’s commitment to community policing, with improved service and new technology, meeting spaces and other amenities.
Captain Stephens participated in the groundbreaking along with Interim Police Chief Troy Livingston, Mayor Brandon Whipple, Vice Mayor Becky Tuttle and and City Council members Mike Hoheisel, Bryan Frye, and Brandon Johnson.
