Melrose Breaks Ground On Building New Police Headquarters

MELROSE, MA — City Hall announced Monday that demolition, site preparation and construction has begun at the former Beebe School on 263 West Foster St. as part of a project that will redevelop the property into the new headquarters for the Melrose Police Department.

The work is one part of the city’s Public Safety Buildings Project. The project was approved by voters in November 2023 through a $130 million debt exclusion. The development of a new police station makes up the first of the three-phase initiative, along with a redesign of the Tremont Street Fire Station.

The new space is estimated to be approximately 26,000 square feet and will replace the current facility located at 56 West Foster St., which was once a telephone company before the department moved in back in 1951. Prior to that, police operated out of City Hall for more than 70 years.

The proposed design of the new station includes a lobby with ADA-compliant restrooms, a training room that also serves as the Emergency Operations Center, fitness centers with modern equipment, and sleeping and storage quarters for overnight officers and staff. An original plan for the building had it sized at approximately 31,000 square feet, however one of the recommendations from nearby neighbors was for the site to be reduced in size by 20 percent. Other recommendations that came out of that 2025 public forum were for the building to have pitched roofs, shingle siding, and a geothermal HVAC system.

The new police station will account for $33,883,000 of the entire project’s budget. Phase one is estimated to be completed sometime in the latter half of 2027. Phase two of the project focuses on the Engine 3 fire station at 280 East Foster St., and the final phase will upgrade the Central Fire Headquarters on Main Street. According to Melrose Communications and Events Manager Thomas Dalton, the Public Safety Buildings Project will be completed in 2031.

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