SAN ANTONIO — Workers will begin building a new San Antonio police substation on North St. Mary's Street in February, according to new filings with the state.
Construction will be finished by February 2024, the city estimated.
Some Tobin Hill residents lobbied for the substation, hoping permanent police presence nearby will mitigate rowdy behavior. People who live in the bar district frequently complain patrons behave wildly in their yards.
"When they come, they start yelling," said a new Tobin Hill resident who wanted to remain anonymous. "You never know how another person is going to come out of that bar."
Earlier this year, residents told city leaders that bar patrons sometimes urinate and defecate in their yards.
"Hopefully, they'll be like, 'Okay, we've got to calm down'" when they see the area police station, the Tobin Hill resident said.
The new facility will be open 24 hours each day, though it will house about half as many police officers as San Antonio's other six existing substations.
Voters approved the project in the 2017 city bond package. Design and construction will cost roughly $22 million.
The building will primarily serve as a hub for patrol officers, SAPD spokesperson Ricardo Guzman said. Crisis response teams, property crime investigators, and San Antonio Fear Free Environment teams focused on community policing will all operate from the new facility, as well.
There will be a community greenspace with tiered seating on the northwest corner of the property. The substation will also house a community gathering room, which could be used for public meetings or a cooling center.