Public Safety to relocate to 40th and Chestnut

The University bought a building near 40th and Chestnut streets yesterday that will soon house all offices of the Division of Public Safety, including University Police. After nearly six months of negotiations, the University closed on a building at 4020-4060 Chestnut Street for a purchase price of $1 million, Public Safety Managing Director Thomas Seamon said. University officials plan to renovate the new, two-story building at a cost of approximately $2 million, and Seamon said he expects the department to move there within a year. "We'll do everything we can to do it sooner," he added. Seamon said that six months ago the University was considering a different property at 40th and Walnut streets. As a result, the architects planning the renovations already know what the department wants. "It will create a stronger presence to ensure safety and the perception of safety for people on the 40th Street corridor," Chief of Police Operations Maureen Rush said, calling the new headquarters a safety "one-stop shopping center." University Police will offer space in the new building to Philadelphia Police for a mini-station, Seamon said. He added that he has not yet discussed the idea with the 18th District, which has jurisdiction over the campus area. "Until we get a conception of what the building will look like, it's hard to say exactly what we will do," he said. But Seamon added that he envisions a special room where Philadelphia Police officers who patrol near campus and members of the local town watch and Penn Watch can store equipment and fill out paperwork. Currently, a house across from High Rise North serves as University Police headquarters, with other offices located in an annex behind the building and a mini-station housing the Special Services unit near 40th and Walnut streets. While the University has not decided how to use the three buildings in the future, administrators are considering various options, according to Jennifer Baldino, an assistant to University President Judith Rodin. The Special Services unit, which is often staffed after dark, will soon move to a new location in an empty storefront on 40th Street between Smokey Joe's Tavern and Burger King, where it will remain until the new building is ready, Rush said. University City Associates, a Penn-owned real estate company, owns the building where Special Services is now located at 3927 Walnut Street. The building at 40th and Chestnut streets will include a command and control center for communications and the new technology recently purchased from Sensormatic. The equipment will first be installed in the current headquarters on Locust Walk and then easily moved to the new location, Seamon said. The new building will also include offices for Sensormatic engineers, the security guard company manager and several administrators, including Security Director Chris Algard, who currently has an office in grad towers, Seamon said. And the building will have sections for investigators and special services officers, a classroom, several conference rooms, a small gym and locker and shower facilities for men and women. "I've taken a walk through the new building and from my untrained eye, it appears to have plenty of space for our needs," Seamon said.