City of Jerome Police Department Renovation

In 2019, the Jerome Police Department and the City of Jerome partnered with Lombard/Conrad Architects to create a new, full-service police headquarters facility. The police department had officially outgrown the “temporary” space they had been stationed in for 20+ years, and it was time for a new facility. While they had visions of what this facility would provide them, Jerome Police was uncertain of the appropriate site for the project.

Our first step in tackling the City’s challenge was conducting a feasibility study to help them decide what direction would be best. While our study showed a brand new facility located in an outer part of town would be more cost-effective and timely, it was decided that investing in a full renovation of an existing building in the downtown core would be more meaningful for the community. This existing facility had served several purposes in the past, including Jerome’s first large grocery store, and community members felt an historic connection with it.

Through a highly collaborative effort with the City of Jerome, the police department, contractor and engineering consultants, our team’s design work and innovative solutions fully transformed an outdated building into a highly functional home base for the Jerome Police Department, complete with lobby space, administrative offices, Chief and Sergeant offices, break room, wellness/fitness room, locker rooms, respite room, family restrooms, evidence storage, conference/training room, police vehicle bay and garage, and adequate community parking. The exterior of the building was refreshed to “modernize” the facade, giving officers, employees, and the community a sense of pride in their new public safety headquarters.

This renovation project was complex with no shortage of structural challenges to tackle . . . and beyond worth the effort in the end. Lombard/Conrad proudly delivered on the overall vision of the project: providing the Jerome Police Department with a much-needed facility upgrade and continuing the city’s ongoing downtown revitalization initiative. The project was honored with 2nd Place in the Idaho Business Review’s Top Projects Awards, a recognition of both the project’s technical excellence and its cultural significance to the Jerome community.