The opening of the new Norcross Public Safety Building marks one of the most significant civic investments in the city’s history. At a September ribbon-cutting ceremony, local leaders celebrated a modern facility that brings police, court and emergency communications operations together under one roof while creating new opportunities for community engagement.
STV, working in partnership with Turner & Townsend Heery, served as project manager and represented the City of Norcross throughout design and construction. The team coordinated city leaders, police personnel, the architect, contractor and other project partners, helping maintain alignment around the decisions, schedule and budget required to bring the city’s largest capital project to completion.
“This was an exceptionally fast-moving project, especially for a facility with so many operational and technological requirements,” said Chad Kastner, director of program management at STV. “Our role was to keep the project team focused on the city’s priorities from groundbreaking through completion while making sure the building could support both the police department’s needs today and programs that may emerge in the future.”
The approximately 42,000-square-foot building brings the Norcross Police Department, Municipal Court and dispatch operations together under one roof. The facility includes a 200-person courtroom, a 2,600-square-foot community room, dedicated mental health support spaces and secure operational areas designed to support police and court functions. Unfinished space on the second floor provides additional flexibility for future officers, divisions or technology.
Technology That Supports Faster Response
One of the facility’s defining features is its real-time crime center, a centralized hub that will help the police department coordinate its emergency response using information from live camera feeds and other sources. The building also includes an outdoor area that could support future drone operations.
“Technology can change dramatically during the time it takes to design and construct a building,” Kastner said. “The city and police department continually evaluated how the facility could support emerging tools and evolving operating models. That approach helped create a building that can accommodate future innovations without losing sight of the practical needs of officers, dispatchers and residents today.”
The facility also reflects a broader understanding of the people who provide public safety services. A quiet room adjacent to the dispatch center gives emergency communications personnel a private place to briefly decompress from the intensity of answering calls. Expanded mental health spaces support the department’s two full-time clinicians and their work with officers and residents.
A Civic Building Designed for the Community
Although security and operational performance shaped many of the project’s decisions, city leaders did not want the building to feel closed off or institutional. Its public spaces were designed to make the facility a community destination as well as a center for law enforcement and court operations.
The multipurpose community room, which overlooks Buford Highway, can accommodate public meetings, events and other activities. Along with the martial arts studio, it may eventually generate revenue that helps offset the facility’s operating costs.
“The new Public Safety Building gives our officers, dispatchers and court personnel the modern space and technology they need to work together more efficiently and effectively to serve our community,” said Norcross Police Chief Bill Grogan. “Just as important, it provides welcoming spaces where we can connect with residents, host programs and strengthen relationships. This is more than a public safety facility; it is a place designed to build trust and bring our community together.”
Supporting that balance required continuous coordination across the delivery team. As a part of the city’s project management team, STV helped translate operational requirements into design and construction decisions, align stakeholders around key priorities and provide city leaders with visibility into issues that could affect delivery.
The assignment was also significant because it represented Norcross’s first use of a dedicated program manager for a capital project. The approach gave the city a central representative focused on its priorities as design and construction advanced.
“For a project of this scale, the value of program management is having someone look across the entire effort and understand how each decision affects the city, the building’s users, the schedule and the budget,” Kastner said. “That coordination becomes especially important when operational needs and technology continue evolving during delivery.”
The completed facility is designed as a long-term investment in both public safety and civic life. It gives the police department and Municipal Court expanded, purpose-built spaces while creating room for services and technologies that may develop in the years ahead.
“The city approached this as a 50-year investment,” Kastner said. “By combining police, court and dispatch functions with spaces that invite the community in, Norcross has created a facility that supports public safety while strengthening trust.”
