Now new police headquarters project can proceed
MELROSE — On January 21, the Melrose City Council voted to accept the transfer from the Melrose Public Schools of control of the former Beebe School property on West Foster Street. Now that the property is under direct city supervision, Mayor Jen Grigoraitis will designate the site as the intended location for a new Melrose Police Department station to replace the aging and obsolete headquarters used currently.
The vote to accept the transfer passed the Council 8-0-0, with eight members voting in favor, two abstaining, and one absent.
This week’s action by the City Council follows public meetings and a series of votes by the Melrose School Committee to transfer the former Beebe School to city control, acknowledging that the land and building of the Beebe School is no longer needed for an educational purpose. The Beebe School, located on West Foster Street, is currently the temporary location of the Melrose Public Library until the main library on West Emerson Street opens this year. Prior to temporarily housing the library, the Beebe was also a rental site for the SEEM collaborative until 2020, after which the building was vacant.
Throughout the deliberations of the School Committee and City Council on this matter over the past several months, the Grigoraitis Administration has engaged with various project stakeholders to refine the Police Station project design and incorporate feedback from the Police Department user groups, and site neighbors.
In November, Grigoraitis appointed a neighborhood representative to join the Mayor’s Public Safety Facilities Advisory Committee (PSFAC). The PSFAC has met regularly since mid-2024 to advise the mayor and her administration on project design and public engagement for all four buildings in the Public Safety Facilities project.
The Beebe property transfer is an important step forward in the city’s multi-stage Public Safety Facilities project. In November 2023, a 59 percent majority of Melrose voters approved a debt exclusion in the amount of $130 million to fund three new/renovated fire stations and a new police station. On June 3, 2024, the Melrose City Council approved the first bond appropriation for these projects, allowing the city to borrow an initial $5.5 million to pay costs for the design and engineering of a new Melrose Highlands fire station and new Melrose Police Station in Phase 1 of the Public Safety Facilities project.
Project timeline and budget
Phase 1 of the Public Safety Facilities projects, focusing on the Melrose police station and the Melrose Highlands fire station, is currently proceeding on-schedule and on-budget. Schematic Design was completed in late 2024, and the project team is currently engaged in design development for the two projects. Construction is set to begin in late 2025 and to conclude in mid-2027. More information is available at www.cityofmelrose.org/public-safety-buildings.
About the Public Safety Facilities Advisory Committee
The PSFAC was formed in 2024 to advise the mayor’s administration on the public safety facilities renovation and replacement projects approved by Melrose voters in a November 2023 debt exclusion vote.