Decades-Old RivCo Police Station Set For Demolition

RIVERSIDE, CA — Police headquarters in downtown Riverside will be open one more day before the 63-year-old building is torn down in preparation for a new edifice with modern amenities slated to be constructed in its place.

The three-story structure at 4102 Orange St., situated on the other side of a courtyard from Riverside County Sheriff's Department headquarters, is scheduled for closure to the public at 4 p.m. Friday, after which the lobby will be padlocked as contractors begin the process of demolishing the brick-and- mortar building, which was erected in 1963.

"Beginning Monday, June 1, all police business and public services previously conducted at the Downtown Station will be handled at the Magnolia Station, located at 10540 Magnolia Ave.," according to a Riverside Police Department statement posted to social media.

The $62 million replacement project will entail removing all components of the existing structure, except for the foundation and utility connections, and erecting a three-story, 37,838-square-foot building with modern accommodations at the site, according to municipal documents posted online.

There will be a new enlarged parking area, as well, consisting of 150 "secured onsite employee spaces," documents stated. The current parking lot is open and accessible to the public.

"The existing Downtown Police Headquarters building is now functionally obsolete due to outdated physical, spatial and ergonomic conditions," according to the city. "The building faces ongoing issues, including inadequate heating, cooling and ventilation, recurring plumbing failures and an insufficient power supply and layout."

The replacement project was identified as a necessity in 2017 — about the time of municipal voters' approval of Measure Z, which increased local taxes — on the premise of growing revenue to meet mounting public safety- related needs.

Work on relocating the downtown Main Library to make space for the Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art took precedence over the headquarters replacement project. The "Cheech" was completed in the spring of 2022.

Palm Desert-based Holt Architecture Inc. is overseeing redesign and replacement of the police headquarters building.

The construction project is likely to wrap up in 2028.