Following months of deliberations that included rejecting an earlier proposal, Gatineau, Que., city council has voted to build a new police headquarters further north by the end of 2026.
In early 2023 councillors turned down a plan favoured by the city’s administration to build the headquarters on a parking lot next to the Robert-Guertin Centre.
That site is next to an emergency shelter and a supervised injection site, which created concerns that people who use those services would avoid the area if there was more of a police presence.
On Tuesday, council agreed to build the headquarters in an industrial park connecting 975 boulevard Saint-Joseph and 80 rue Jean-Proulx in the northern section of the Hull district.
“Essentially we evolved toward a great project, so it’s a good day today,” said Gatineau Mayor Daniel Champagne.
Once built at an estimated cost of $187 million, the new headquarters will replace the existing headquarters at 590 boulevard Gréber, as well as the police station at 777 boulevard de la Carrière in Hull.
According to Gatineau police Chief Simon Fournier, the city needs a new headquarters because their existing one was opened in 1990 and no longer meets modern standards.
The new facility will be 165,000 square feet and include a four-storey above-ground parking garage.
Manoir-des-Trembles-Val-Tétreau Coun. Jocelyn Blondin cast the lone vote against the project, arguing the parking garage should be built underground since that is something the city itself encourages developers to do.
The city will still need to decide what to do with the Robert-Guertin Centre property, which until its closing in 2021 was a concert venue and more notably the long-time home of the Gatineau Olympiques junior hockey team.
Coun. Steve Moran, whose district includes the centre, said Tuesday he was relieved since both he and his constituents have long pushed for consultation to decide what to do with the land.
New Aylmer police station
While the new police headquarters means a new facility for officers in Gatineau’s Hull and Gatineau districts, the needs of Aylmer were also considered Tuesday.
The city will replace the district’s 66-year-old police post at an estimated cost of $25.7 million.
“[Housing] development in Aylmer is big and we have more and more people,” said Aylmer Coun. Steven Boivin. “So what we’re going to have there is going to be great for the people of Aylmer.”
The target opening date for the Aylmer station is early 2027.