PUYALLUP, Wash.—Puyallup has officially opened its long‑awaited Police Department Public Safety Building, marking a major milestone for a city that has struggled for years with an outdated, overcrowded, and hazard‑zone‑located headquarters.
The new facility, located at 1015 39th Ave. SE in the Benaroya Business & Technology Center, opened to the public on April 6, 2026, with a ribbon‑cutting ceremony held April 9.
The move replaces the department’s 1968 downtown station, a building originally designed for just 23 staff and a 21‑bed jail. By 2023, the department had grown to 95 employees and routinely housed more than 50 inmates—more than double the jail’s intended capacity. Evidence and equipment had been scattered across four separate facilities, and the building’s location in a lahar hazard zone raised additional safety concerns.
City leaders pursued multiple bond measures between 2021 and 2023 to fund a new headquarters, but all three failed at the ballot box. In 2024, the City Council approved a 30‑year lease and renovation plan for the Benaroya‑owned building, a move projected to save roughly $30 million compared to constructing a new facility from the ground up. The total long‑term cost is estimated at $114.5 million. (This financial context is based on prior public reporting; no new financial data appeared in the retrieved sources.)
Construction and seismic upgrades for the new station were led by JTM Construction, which delivered structural strengthening, critical systems improvements, and a modernized interior designed to support 24/7 operations. The project includes a fully equipped Emergency Operations Center (EOC), an AV broadcasting studio and control room, and expanded office, meeting, and support spaces. JTM’s work builds on earlier tenant‑improvement phases completed for the same structure. The facility was reportedly designed by Mackenzie, a Pacific Northwest-based architecture and engineering firm.
A wide network of specialty contractors contributed to the build‑out, reflecting the complexity of modern public‑safety infrastructure. Project partners included MacDonald‑Miller Facility Solutions, Expert Drywall, PowerCom, Inc., Deeny Construction, Grayhawk Construction, Frontier, Patriot Fire Protection, Fairweather Masonry, PCI, Paintsmith, Evergreen Erectors, Northshore, Wayne’s Roofing, Lacey Glass, Sessler, Nasim Landscape, Steel Encounters, Topline, Ausclean, and Evergreen Power Systems.
The building’s owner, The Benaroya Company, partnered closely with the city and construction teams to adapt the existing structure into a hardened, mission‑critical public‑safety facility. The result is a headquarters designed to withstand seismic events, support coordinated emergency response, and centralize police operations previously spread across multiple sites.
While the new headquarters consolidates most police functions, the city is also planning renovations to the old Pioneer Avenue station. According to a City of Puyallup RFQ, the former building will be remodeled into a police substation, and the municipal jail will undergo upgrades to improve inmate separation and ADA compliance.
City officials say the new facility positions Puyallup for decades of growth, improves officer and public safety, and finally resolves the operational strain caused by decades of overcrowding. With modern infrastructure, expanded space, and a dedicated EOC, the department now has a headquarters built to meet the demands of a rapidly growing community.
