Central Fire Station & Police Department | Commerce, Texas

The Commerce Municipal Complex consisted of two buildings set a block apart threaded together by a pedestrian mall and joint-use parking. Commerce engaged RSA to prepare a Preliminary Needs Assessment and Master Plan for the project to determine the appropriate sites, square footage, scope and costs. With the project located in a historic downtown CBD, RSA was tasked with performing a site analysis for an infill site for the Police Station vs. reuse of the existing municipal complex site. The latter solution was chosen in favor of allowing the infill site to develop as a future green space while utilizing the existing municipal complex site to expand the CBD, thus investing in the City’s downtown revitalization effort. The Public Safety Building contains Police Operations, Detention, Dispatch, and the EOC. To reduce the project cost, RSA’s design called for multiple departments to share Lobby, Training Room/EOC/Community Room, Dispatch, Showers, Locker Rooms and Fitness Center space. The Police Station provides drive-through access for Police vehicles as well as the Sallyport. The Commerce Municipal Complex reflects the traditional red brick and white cast stone materials found in the downtown CBD. A civic plaza was placed as the central focus of the project with a traditional clock tower set at a 45 degree axis to the plaza facing the Central Business District. The design of the Commerce Public Safety Complex reflects the historic character of this City’s traditional downtown CBD and the modest budget available for these much needed facilities.