High-crime area chosen as site for new Brooklyn Park police station

Brooklyn Park is hoping to spur development in the Village Creek neighborhood, an area troubled by higher crime rates than elsewhere in the city, by opening a full-time police station near Brooklyn Boulevard and Zane Avenue.

The 4,000-square-foot station will be rare for Twin Cities suburbs because of its size, scope of service and 24-hour staffing, police officials said.

"I don't know of any others of this size," said Brooklyn Park Lt. Todd Milburn.

Milburn said he will oversee about 10 officers who will patrol and take reports at the Village Creek Community Police Station on Welcome Avenue by Brooklyn Boulevard.

Brooklyn Park is negotiating to buy the former Wells Fargo Bank property and hopes to begin remodeling by year's end, said Kim Berggren, city development project manager. She said the station is expected to open next year.

Harlan Johnson, executive director of the Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association, said he knew of only a couple of similar substations in Twin Cities suburbs, including Bloomington and Minnetonka. Bloomington has a sergeant and five officers at its 900-square-foot substation in the Mall of America, said Cmdr. Jim Ryan. They usually work 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and cover shoplifting and other retail-related crimes, he said.

Minnetonka has two officers who work from a small office at Ridgedale to cover retail-related crime during store hours, said Sgt. Dave Riegert.

Brooklyn Park's Berggren said the last piece of funding for the $1.57 million station was committed Aug. 25 when the Hennepin County Board approved up to $400,000 in funds under its Stable Neighborhood Action Plan.

Brooklyn Park will contribute about $250,000 for computers and to connect the station to the city communication network. The remaining $916,000 will come from federal Community Block Grants and a Justice Assistance Grant, Berggren said.

City officials hope the heightened police presence will reduce crime and attract development in the Village Creek neighborhood in the First Precinct. The station's complement will include two new officers approved by the City Council this year to patrol several blocks on either side of Zane Avenue from south of Interstate Hwy. 694 and north to 85th Avenue.

Police records show 43 percent of city crime and more than half of its violent crimes in the past year were concentrated along Zane Avenue and centered at Zane and Brooklyn Boulevard.

"The Zane corridor is still one of our higher-crime areas," said Mayor Steve Lampi. "It has improved significantly, although it is high compared to other parts of the city. ...We believe more police presence will have a positive impact on crime in that area."

The station will provide a community meeting room and a computer to give residents Internet access to the city's website, Milburn said.

The new station "is a good recognition that Brooklyn Park is trying to preserve and enhance its lower-income neighborhoods," said Mike Opat, a County Board member who represents the city.

The city has spent millions of dollars clearing buildings and trying to redevelop the 133-acre Village Creek area, which has much of the city's low-income housing. Last year the city spent about $13 million to buy the 13-acre Huntington Pointe apartments and demolish the 306-unit complex, Lampi said.

City officials were criticized by affordable-housing advocates for demolishing the 306 apartments. Lampi said the city has facilitated other low-income housing, such as Habitat for Humanity homes.

Lampi said the demolition will help redevelopment and reduce the large number of low-rent, one-bedroom apartments concentrated in that area. Since 2005, 291 townhouse units have been built in the area, and groundbreaking is planned this month for a Hennepin County Medical Center clinic at Zane and Brooklyn Boulevard, officials said.