(Los Angeles, CA) Construction of the $220 million Airport Police Facility near Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) passed a major milestone earlier this month with the final structural concrete pour for a four-story parking deck adjacent to the state-of-the-art headquarters building.
"This final concrete pour brings us one step closer to completion of a facility that will allow our airport police to build upon the already exceptional service provided to our guests, employees and the neighboring community," said Justin Erbacci, Chief Executive Officer, Los Angeles World Airports. "Consolidating the operations of the APD under one roof will greatly enhance communication and coordination between divisions and we are excited for its opening next year."
"The Los Angeles Airport Police Division is the largest aviation-related police force in the country, and as such is key to providing a safe and secure experience to airport users and workers " said David L. Maggard Jr., Deputy Executive Director, Homeland Security and Public Safety, LAWA. "With this new facility, the APD's men and women will be further equipped to take on the challenges as LAX reinvents itself in the coming years."
"This state-of-the-art Airport Police Facility is representative of the professional services that the Los Angeles Airport Police Division has been providing to millions of international and domestic travelers and airport employees since 1946," said Cecil W. Rhambo Jr., Chief, Los Angeles Airport Police. "This facility will allow the department to expand on its training programs, centralize overall deployment of its over 1,100 employees under one roof, and serve as a local community gathering place."
The Airport Police Facility will consolidate operations from eight separate locations under one roof just north of the Central Terminal Area in Westchester. Consolidation of the current police facilities was a recommendation in the 2011 Report of the Mayor’s Blue Ribbon Panel on Airport Security. The 160,000-square-foot headquarters building and 960-stall parking structure are located on a 12-acre site at the northeast corner of Westchester Parkway and Loyola Boulevard.
Grading at the site started prior to last fall's groundbreaking event. More than 72,000 cubic yards of soil was removed prior to beginning work on the foundations for both structures. The final structural concrete pour for the three-story headquarters building took place at the end of July 2020.
Of approximately 30,000 cubic yards of concrete used in the construction of the headquarters building and parking structure, 8,000 cubic yards was used for foundations, 7,000 cubic yards for walls, and 15,000 cubic yards for floor slabs. There were more than 100 separate placements of concrete in the facilities over a period of eight months.
With completion of the concrete pours, the builder will turn its attention to activities that include installation of mechanical, electrical, plumbing and fire sprinkler systems, and interior metal stud wall framing. Exterior finishes will include block walls and glazing (glass walls) at the headquarters building, and the application of a "smoothing" compound (sacking) on the parking structure to achieve its final finish.
Work will also be taking place on exterior underground infrastructure, such as sewer and storm drain connections into Loyola Boulevard and Westchester Parkway, and new domestic water service to the site.
The Airport Police Facility is being built with a number of sustainable features, such as dual-plumbing for future reclaimed water use. The maximum size solar/photo-voltaic system allowed will be installed on the headquarters building, consistent with Federal Aviation Administration requirements for glare and other technical considerations. The facility is being built to CalGreen Tier 1 standards and designed to attain, at a minimum, LEED Silver certification.
The new facility will include space for the Los Angeles Airport Police Division’s (APD) Office of Operations, Office of Support Services, Office of Homeland Security and Intelligence, Emergency Service Unit, Traffic and Security Group, Bomb Disposal Unit, K-9 Unit, a practice range and a multi-purpose room. It will also include a landscaped paseo along Westchester Parkway.
Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (SOM) and Hensel Phelps (HP) are the design-builders for the project.
The parking structure is anticipated to be in service by the end of 2020, with completion of the headquarters scheduled for mid-2021.
More information about the Airport Police Facility, including a gallery of construction photos, is available at https://www.lawa.org/groups-and-divisions/airport-police/facility
