A new report suggests a $57-million police station under construction in Moncton will be too small within 20 years and need a multimillion-dollar expansion, even if the area stays with the RCMP.
Consultants reviewed the size of the building as part of a study looking at whether Moncton, Dieppe and Riverview should keep the RCMP or move to a new municipal force.
“The assessment indicates that the regional facility which is under construction is not appropriately sized to accommodate the 2044 projected service needs of either policing model, RCMP or municipal,” says a report by Perivale + Taylor and Cornerstone released last week.
The new station on Albert Street is expected to be complete in 2025 and will replace a station on Main Street considered too small and rundown.
When construction was approved in 2021, Moncton councillors were told it was designed larger than currently needed to accommodate growth.
While it was known the building would be too small for a municipal force as it was designed for the RCMP — which have specialized units elsewhere — the report says it would also be too small for the RCMP in the future.