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South Fayette moves to new municipal center
Change of Address
South Fayette Township moves police station, administrative offices and meeting chambers to newly built municipal center
By Andrea Iglar; photography by Roy Engelbrecht, courtesy of DiMarco Construction Company
South Fayette Township has a new address.
Following nearly two years of construction, the township has opened a 36,000-square-foot building that serves as the center of local government operations.
The police station, administrative staff offices and public board meetings have moved to the newly built South Fayette Township Municipal Center at 100 Township Drive, South Fayette PA 15017.
The site is located along Hickory Grade Road, near The Watson Institute/former El Rancho drive-in. Regular building hours are weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Township Manager John M. Barrett said evening board and commission meetings offer good opportunities to visit the facility, and residents may drop in during the day.
"There is open public space that people are welcome to come and see," he said.
The South Fayette Township Library and the South Fayette Area Senior Citizens Association remain in parts of the former municipal building at 515 Millers Run Road in the Morgan neighborhood. Officials are working on plans to build a community center where these organizations eventually could move.
Overall, the new municipal center is more secure, accessible and professional, Barrett said.
“The notion of needing new facilities has been a longtime priority in the township, and we’ve accomplished the first step,” he said.
Half the new building is dedicated to the police department, which has 23 officers, an administrative assistant and two police dogs.
The 18,000-square-foot police station includes offices, training and tactical rooms, secure garages, holding cells, evidence processing, file storage, a fitness center, a bloodhound kennel and other facilities. All officers have an office or workstation now, instead of sharing desks and computers.
Police Chief John Phoennik, who lives in South Fayette, has served the department for 34 years. He said the 1,800-squarefoot former station was sorely inadequate, especially as the number of officers grew from 13 to 23 over the past decade.
The new building will serve residents for many years to come, he said.
This is truly a multigenerational, state-of-the-art facility,” Phoennik said. “It really puts South Fayette on the map as a modern, professional police department that keeps pace with the growth of the community.
The new police station paves the way to seek professional accreditation, host regional law enforcement training and add public programs such as a citizen’s police academy, the chief said.
Basically, officers can do everything in-house except firearms training, he said.
“This facility has opened up avenues for the police department to do more for public safety and better serve the taxpayers,” Phoennik said.
The general contractor for the building was DiMarco Construction Company Inc., and the architect was Kimmel Bogrette Architecture + Site.
Total project cost was about $20 million, including $16.89 million for construction plus expenses such as design, furniture and equipment.
Grant funding included $1 million from the state Local Share Account and $1.78 million in COVID-19 stimulus money, plus its interest earnings, from the American Rescue Plan Act.
“This is a forever building,” Barrett said. “It should stand the test of time.”
For more information about the municipal center and the history of township buildings in South Fayette, please refer to the Summer 2022 issue of South Fayette Connect: southfayettepa. com/summer2022.
