Puyallup’s police force is packing up its long‑time downtown headquarters and shifting daily operations to a leased space on South Hill, trading an aging building for a modern tech‑park setting. The main station at 311 W. Pioneer Avenue has temporarily shut its public lobby while staff, evidence and equipment make the move, but officials say 911 calls and patrol coverage are continuing as usual during the transition. City leaders have lined up a ribbon‑cutting and dedication at the new site for the week after the relocation wraps.
The move is the culmination of years of wrangling over what to do with a public safety building that opened in 1968 and, in the city’s view, no longer matches current policing demands. According to the City of Puyallup, the plan centers on a 30‑year lease at the Benaroya Business & Technology Center, paired with roughly $33.7 million in tenant improvements, partly offset by the landlord, and an estimated first‑year combined lease and debt cost of about $3.13 million.
Why the move
The downtown facility was originally built for roughly two dozen officers and a 21‑bed jail. Today the department employs far more people and is operating an overcrowded jail, which has pushed evidence and equipment into scattered off‑site locations. On top of that, local reporting has flagged growing repair needs and the building’s spot in a lahar hazard zone as key reasons city officials opted for relocation rather than constructing a new complex on the same footprint, as reported by Tacoma Weekly.
What changes for residents
The new headquarters at 1015 39th Ave SE is designed to bring staff, evidence storage and the emergency‑operations function together under one roof, add a larger public lobby and expand on‑site parking, all while sitting outside the city’s mapped lahar‑risk area. City officials say the downtown station will not go dark permanently; it is slated to return as a remodeled substation, and the existing jail will be renovated to improve inmate separation and services. Patrol officers will continue to cover downtown on their regular shifts. The Benaroya campus and details such as suite sizes and parking layout are publicly listed in commercial filings for the property.
Costs and controversy
The decision to lease came after three failed bond measures in 2021, 2022 and 2023 and has fueled a running argument over whether Puyallup should have found a way to build its own facility instead. The News Tribune reported the council’s 30‑year lease package at roughly $114.5 million, with a comparable new construction scenario estimated at about $149.6 million over the same period, a difference city leaders describe as roughly $30 million in savings. The financing strategy leans on councilmanic (LTGO) bonds along with fee and utility adjustments, a mix critics argue allows the project to move ahead without going back to voters.
Practical details
The public is invited to a ribbon‑cutting, memorial dedication and blessing at 1 p.m. on Thursday, April 9 at the new South Hill site. The department has announced that the downtown lobby will close during the transfer and that public services will resume at the South Hill address at 8 a.m. on April 6, while the city’s event page confirms the grand‑opening schedule and lists the new location as 1015 39th Ave SE, Suite 100. For emergencies, residents should continue to call 911, and for routine services they are directed to check the city’s project and events pages for updated hours and contact information.
