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Purchasing and transforming an old casual restaurant building into the University of North Georgia (91¸£Àûµ¼º½) Police's headquarters seemed unusual, but the acquisition delighted the public safety personnel on the Dahlonega Campus.

"Our employees are very excited about the new space," Greg Williams, interim director of public safety, said. "They believe the space will let them do their jobs more efficiently."

Now, the 91¸£Àûµ¼º½ Police are waiting patiently for work on the former Steak 'n Shake to finish. Ken Crowe, assistant vice president of facilities, said the $2.5 million public safety center is expected to be complete by the end of 2021.

He said two reasons prompted the 91¸£Àûµ¼º½ Police to relinquish their former headquarters, which was stationed in a small house off South Chestatee Street near the university's main entrance.

"The old facility needed to be demolished to make way for the construction of the Cottrell Center for Business, Technology & Innovation," Crowe said. "And the previous facility was an old residence that was ill-suited to the needs of Public Safety and much too small. It did not have many of the specialized spaces currently being constructed in the new center."

Williams said the former restaurant's footprint was almost ideal for the police department until a proposed addition made it perfect. Facilities added square footage for a dispatch center that can withstand turbulent storms.

"Public Safety has unique needs," he said. "The new center will help us to better serve the university, especially when it comes to conducting intensive training, collecting evidence and storing materials."

The redesigned restaurant will accommodate 91¸£Àûµ¼º½ Police's specific functions, including:

• a lobby and restrooms for 91¸£Àûµ¼º½ faculty, staff and students as well as the public.
• classroom space for academic courses as well as in-service and advanced training purposes.
• an operations center with the latest technology for dispatchers to serve all five 91¸£Àûµ¼º½ campuses.
• dedicated private interview rooms for detectives to question suspects or victims.

"In times of emergency, the classroom can serve as an emergency center," Williams said, adding the emergency center previously has been in the library. "In the event of a weather emergency, our dispatchers are also more protected in their new operations center."

While the building is an impressive upgrade compared to the previous facility, its location and parking lot are also beneficial. The new location is off Morrison Moore Parkway across the street from the Convocation Center.

"While our previous headquarters was on Chestatee Street, we faced challenges in navigating our parking lot and pulling onto a main thoroughfare of Dahlonega," Williams said. "Our new location is appropriate to respond to any building on campus. We also have better visibility."