Under blue sunny skies, Gresham politicians and law enforcement officials turned shovels full of dirt to mark the groundbreaking of the citys new police station Thursday, March 7.
The $5.5 million Rockwood Public Safety Facility at 675 N.E. 181st Ave. is being funded through bonds made possible by Gresham voters who 10 years ago created the citys first urban renewal district in the West Gresham-Rockwood area.
This has been a long time coming, said Gresham Mayor Shane Bemis.
I dont think I can overestimate what a monumental difference this will make in this neighborhood, he added.
Designed by Group Mackenzie, a Portland-based architecture and design firm, the two-story 12,000-square-foot building will face busy Northeast 181st Avenue where Kaschs Garden Center used to sit.
P&C Construction, which started in 1961 based out of a house in Gresham, is the contractor.
The Rockwood Public Safety Facility will provide a closer home-base for officers who respond to calls from the Rockwood West-Gresham area the citys most densely populated area that generates the highest percentage of police calls.
It will house the departments traffic and gang units as well as property and evidence technicians. 
It also will include a temporary booking facility, property and evidence storage, and a police training room that will double as a community meeting space.
This is going to be the citys building, said Gresham Police Chief Craig Junginger, and we want people to feel comfortable visiting us and using this facility.
The new station will complement the departments crowded space at Gresham City Hall on Northwest Eastman Parkway between Division and Burnside streets.