LUMBERTON — Demolition crews and machinery rolled onto Godwin Avenue on Thursday, and as piles of metal, wood, dirt and shrubs climbed skyward, the old Lumberton Police Department slowly disappeared.
The 11,000-square-foot building at 1305 Godwin Ave. is being torn down to make way for a new 18,000-square-foot facility, according to City Manager Wayne Horne. The demolition, salvage and cleanup will take about 20 days.
An excavator on Thursday rolled over piles of debris that used to be the back of the building, which had water damage and other problems because of a leaky roof.
“It’s history in the making …,” Police Chief Mike McNeill said.
McNeill, who’s been with the department for nearly 30 years, took photographs of the building before demolition began, and said he plans to take a couple bricks home as keepsakes.
“I’m excited about it. I’m excited to see the bricks coming down,” he said. “They’re getting ready to get started on this thing… . It’s been a long time waiting.”
McNeill said the new facility will be more user friendly and easier to navigate. The groundbreaking is schedule for Feb. 10.
Horne said that the current building, which was built in 1950 and is valued at $653,000, was once used by the Lance Cracker Company. It was also used as a fire station before it became the police headquarters in 1963.
The city set forth plans in 2009 to renovate the police headquarters but found that constructing a new building made more sense financially.
In November, the department vacated the building and temporarily moved into the former St. Frances De Sales Catholic School at 407 Sycamore St.
The demolition crew was hired by Chancel Builders, of Myrtle Beach, S.C., which has a $2.5 million contract with the city to construct the new building.
Lumberton police Cpl. Shawn Byrd stopped by on Thursday and watched some of the demolition from his patrol car.
“It’s a bittersweet moment,” said Byrd, who began his police career in the building as a recruit 14 years ago. “… This is where I got my start. It’s just hard to fathom and imagine, this is where I started at, and it’s leaving us.”
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