Portsmouth police station design panned as 'ugly' structure that would ruin sight lines

PORTSMOUTH — Several residents shared their displeasure with the proposed design of the addition and renovation of the city's existing police station.

One resident described the addition as a “quite ugly building,” while another said he found the proposed design “to be an atrocious impediment to the existing sight lines.”

The comments emailed to city councilors come as the council is slated to vote Monday night on the proposed location of the addition, which is slated to be built in front of the existing police station.

City public works director Peter Rice has acknowledged the addition would block the views of the North Church and Middle School from the City Hall complex, and force a reconfiguration of the entrance to and exit from City Hall.

What Portsmouth residents are saying about police station design

Resident Mary Lou McElwain stated she was “very surprised” the council has been asked “to approve the current budget and the proposed concept at the June 3 meeting, less than two weeks from when residents have seen the plan.

“I have spoken with more than a dozen residents this week about this design. No one is in favor,”  McElwain, who serves on the city’s Parking, Traffic and Safety Committee, wrote in an email to the council. “This building will block the iconic view of the city and off to the (Interstate) 95 bridge that cannot be seen from anywhere else in Portsmouth. Do you get that? Landscape and skyline views will be lost forever.”

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She also questioned if the design group for the project has “seen Portsmouth’s wetlands ordinance, do they know the history of the cherry trees along South Mill Pond that were given to Portsmouth by its Japanese sister city, Nichinan?

“This building will block air, light and beautiful views for residents of Connors Cottage,” she added.

McElwain wondered too about the impact the proposed project could have on the Portsmouth farmers market, which is held Saturdays in the City Hall parking lot, typically from near the beginning of May through close to the end of October.

“It is a beautiful site coming from town on the first Saturday of May to see all the cherry trees in bloom, and the white tents of the market stalls in the background,” she said. “I am very sad to think all of this will be gone.”

McElwain implored the council, “at the very least that you postpone a vote on this plan at the June 3rd Council meeting.”

“Please take the time to fully grasp the ramifications of this very large and quite ugly building,” she told councilors. “Please give yourselves and residents time to get more information and understand the impact of this plan.”

Resident Patrick Daley stated in an email to the council that the “policing facility design seeks to situate the new police headquarters on the promontory overlooking the tidal inlet and the South Mill Pond.

“I find this design to be an atrocious impediment to the existing sight lines and a large capture of the footprint of the present farmers market,” he wrote. “The Cottage apartment dwellers would also suffer drastically by the impoverishment of their views of the tidal inlet, the South Mill Pond, and the green spaces of Haven Park.”

He stated that “the architectural firm failed its test.”

“Sign me as a disgruntled citizen,” Daley added.

Resident Beverly James wrote she was “dismayed to learn about the proposed expansion and renovation to the police station.”

“As city property overlooking the parks and Mill Pond, Hospital Hill is a jewel whose views, integrity, green spaces, (and) public uses must be protected,” she wrote. “I trust that the current council, with its progressive views, will find a way to meet the needs of the police force while preserving this cherished space.”

Resident Guy Spiers stated “in general” he likes the location of the proposed police station project.

“But please drop it one story and make up the square footage by expanding in front of the current police building and also out to Junkins and back (underground) under the farmers market parking lot,” he said. “This would help preserve the views from the farmers market to the north (pond, downtown and bridges).”

A preliminary design for police station

The comments from residents come about two weeks after the City Council got its first look at a new preliminary design for a renovated and expanded police station, with a project price tag of $41.8 million.

The current cost estimate to renovate the existing station at the City Hall campus and build a two-story addition is about $29 million lower than the $70 million-plus estimates the council received in December on a new station at several potential sites.

Rice shared the new cost estimate and color massing diagrams with the City Council during a recent work session.

The project to build what city officials are calling Portsmouth’s new community policing facility comes in response to concerns raised about the existing station, which is part of the City Hall complex and located in what used to be a hospital.

Rice stressed during that meeting the police station working group has created a preliminary design.

“This is not a final design. We are not going to be showing you renderings of a finished building,” Rice said. "(It’s) really a massing exercise and it’s determining if this site can accommodate the building we’re looking at.”

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Reached Friday, Mayor Deaglan McEachern stated that from “a cost standpoint we’ve brought the police station back down to what was budgeted in the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) budget for the past four or five years.”

“Given what inflation has done to a majority of projects, I’m happy that we’ve controlled that cost,” McEachern said.

A total of $42.2 million has been identified in the city’s CIP for the design and construction of the new station, according to Rice.

Asked about the critical comments some residents made about the new station’s design, McEachern said, “Right now we’re seeing massing. That will be improved upon.”

“The vote on Monday is to talk about whether we’re on the right track or wrong track for location,” the mayor said. “Saving $30 million means we’re on the right track, the only viable track that we’ve seen so far.”

In terms of potentially ruining views with an addition, McEachern acknowledged the “city has a lot of great sight lines. All of that is going to be discussed and decided over a lengthy process."

Council affirmation sought for police station location

City Manager Karen Conard said she will be seeking “the City Council’s affirmation to continue with the design effort for a new community policing facility at the municipal campus adjacent to the South Mill pond.”

The total estimated budget for the project is $42.2 million, she said in a memo to the council.

“Staff needs additional direction and assurance before proceeding with additional design efforts and initiating permitting efforts,” Conard explained.

Monday’s regular meeting is slated to start at 7 p.m. and will be held in City Council Chambers in City Hall.

The proposed two-story addition to the existing station will include 30,872 square feet of space, according to diagrams released by the working group. The total square footage is 49,972, including space in the current station that will be renovated, according to city documents.

The addition, which would be located in front of the existing station along South Mill Pond, would include a new dispatch center, a designated space for detectives, a new patrol officer’s area, a public access area, and a booking and intake area, according to the diagrams and statements by Rice and other officials.

The plan also calls for making traffic two-way going into and out of the City Hall complex off Junkins Avenue.

Police would have a separate two-way ramp into the new station, Rice said.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Portsmouth police station design called 'ugly.' Will city change it?