After five months of renovations to Bissell Hall so the outdated University Police headquarters could better serve the needs of UB's growing campus, construction is coming to a close.
Construction began in October of 2003 and should be completed by mid-March, according to John Grela, director of public safety.
"It was never big enough for operations," Grela said. "As of today 70 people are assigned to this building, which includes 45 patrol officers, eight lieutenants, four investigative staff, an investigative supervisor, administrative and professional staff, myself and two assistants."
According to the UB Web site, Bissell Hall was built as a church in 1938, three decades before the development of North Campus in 1966. The Campus Mail Center is the only other pre-university building besides Bissell still standing. The hall's age leaves plenty of room for improvement, according to Grela.
"Most importantly, we have created a bathroom for the holding area," said Grela. "Previously, people kept in the holding area would have to use the general restroom, and it seemed inappropriate."
According to Grela, state-of-the-art men and women's locker rooms with restroom and shower facilities have been added, along with a new workout room.
The previous men's locker room is going to be used as a briefing room and the women's locker room will be used as a storage room. Grela said they are considering using the old workout room as a break room for officers.
"There has always been a need for storage and training area," he said. "We are able to create a new line-up room and briefing room from the space that was vacated."
Before the renovations, eight lieutenant officers had to share two offices. Two more offices have been created in what was once the break room.
"We'll service the department better, and we've created storage areas too," said Grela.
"Bigger locker rooms, shower rooms are the things we needed," said officer Chris Bartolomei. "The bathroom for the holding area has been a very significant addition to the building."
The exterior is 70 percent complete, though molding and landscaping still need to be done, Grela said. The vacated areas will be cleaned up and painted as well.
"The officers are really hard-working and really deserve it," said student assistant Bridget Topping, a senior sociology major.
"It's nice not to be so cramped, although it doesn't change what we work with," said student assistant Kathleen Hennessey, a junior political science and psychology double major.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
