By JAMES FINK
Business First
Standing by a bank of computer screens, Niagara Falls Police Capt. John De Marco says he already feels at home in the Cataract City's new police-and-courts building.
And the kicker is, he's only been in the building for a few hours.
"We've come into the 21st century," De Marco said with a smile.
The 132,000-square-foot Niagara Falls Municipal Complex on Main Street welcomed its first tenants - 170 workers from the city's police department, 54 from Niagara Falls City Court and a handful of prisoners - on May 19. The $47.3 million building was developed by CLP 3 - a partnership between Ciminelli Development Co. and Largo Real Estate Advisors - for the City of Niagara Falls. It replaces a Hyde Park Boulevard facility that dates to the early 1950s.
"In the old place, we actually had to walk prisoners through the public space just to get from processing to the courtrooms," De Marco said. "Now, how safe was that?"
The new building features a number of security improvements and practical amenities. Prisoners are taken into the building through a hidden, below-surfrace-grade entrance and transported to one of 58 cells through a private elevator system. Judges have their own elevators that are private and secure.
The police department has an in-house gun range, something it lacked before, and its crime-investigation unit has a lab equipped with the latest technology. An emergency center for large-scale crises or situations is wired for computers and other IT equipment.
The courtrooms - four in all - are a mix of high-tech styling and red oak paneling. There are a dozen small conference rooms for judges and lawyers, whereas before there were none, said Niagara Falls Chief City Court Judge Hon. Mark Violante.
"Before, we all just huddled around any table we could find," De Marco said.
Violante said CLP 3 took care of the little things, such as making it easier for judges and their clerks to pass information to each other in the courtroom and installing hearing devices for the handicapped.
"Every courtroom works the way we want it to," Violante said.
The building is monitored by 98 security cameras, which cover virtually every square inch of the structure.
The building, the largest construction project completed this year in Niagara Falls, was several years in the making. Construction on the $49 million facility began in November 2007.
"We're quite proud of the fact we brought it in on time and under budget," said Salvatore LaGambina, Ciminelli vice president.
The new building is almost twice the size of the Hyde Park Boulevard complex, which was about 70,0000 square feet.
The police department moved in over a period of four days, ending May 19.
During the moving process, five criminal cases were heard in one of the courtrooms, officials said.