City Wins Community Planning Award for CPD District 3 HQ

CINCINNATI – The City of Cincinnati has been named a co-winner of the 2016 Frank F. Ferris II Community Planning Award for the construction of the new Cincinnati Police Department District 3 headquarters in Westwood.

The City's Department of Planning accepted the Implementation of a Plan award from the Hamilton County Regional Planning Commission on March 11 during the Hamilton County Planning Partnership Annual Meeting in Blue Ash.

Delhi Township took home the award in the Development of a Plan Category for its “Plan the Pike” project.

“We’d like to thank Hamilton County Regional Planning Commission for recognizing the City of Cincinnati and Plan Cincinnati for the construction of this community-centric building in the heart of city’s West Side,” said Charles Graves, Director of the Department of City Planning. “We’re also grateful to the communities in the 14 neighborhoods of Police District 3 for joining us and participating in this process to create this fantastic new facility and community space.”

District 3’s new central command facility at 2300 Ferguson Road is the first new police headquarters built in Cincinnati in more than 40 years. More importantly, the 39,000-square-foot space has set the standard for new development in the Ferguson Road Corridor, and has created a community center from what was previously a vacant lot.

The state-of-the-art facility is the first opportunity for a City-funded project to follow the recently adopted Comprehensive Plan, PLAN CINCINNATI.

The project also represents several other firsts. The facility is the first LEED Platinum public building in Cincinnati, and the first public building in the city to achieve net-zero energy consumption. It's also the first time the City of Cincinnati used the design-build process to streamline and speed-up both the procurement and building processes.

One of the other aspects that made this project unique was the fact this was one of the first instances in which the City invited the public to heavily participate in a public infrastructure project.

A 25-member community advisory team made up of residents from all of the neighborhoods in the police district met with architects and construction team for months to help define public gathering spaces in the building and make decisions regarding the one-of-a-kind artwork on display.

The facility has a rain garden, unique glass walls that highlight notable buildings in District 3, and a detailed map that includes iconic spaces from each of the D3 communities. In one of the on-site plazas there are 14 columns that feature historical factoids and details about each of the neighborhoods. 

“The City and Design-Build Team agree that the resulting project was more spectacular than imagined because of the hands-on involvement from the community,” added Mr. Graves. “And most importantly, the 14 neighborhoods of Police District 3 agree that they think of the new building as community space where they feel welcome and at home.”

About the Award

The Ferris Award was created by The Hamilton County Regional Planning Commission in 1995 to recognize and honor the lifelong dedication of Mr. Frank F. Ferris to municipal, county, and regional planning activities. It is awarded annually to a local planning commission or planning committee whose efforts have contributed to the elevation of planning principles, greater awareness of the value of planning, and improved quality of life.