*Editor’s note: An editing error has been corrected to say ArtCraft is a 7-story building.

CLEVELAND (WJW) – Cleveland officials are eying a historic building as the proposed site of Cleveland Division of Police headquarters.

For the first time, local media was invited to tour the 7-story, 250,000-square-foot ArtCraft building on Superior. The expected signs of age, including chipped paint and cracked windows were present. However, renderings of the city’s vision also showcased what is possible through rehabilitation. 

The scale of the anticipated gut rehabilitation work is grand and would include a new roof, windows and masonry restoration including electrical and other technical components for a price city officials say would not exceed $90 million.

“As you may know, we were previously looking at building a building on the Opportunity Corridor,” said Carter Edman Manager of Architecture and Site Development for the City of Cleveland. “That project was starting to get up to $160 million…$90 million is a lot of money, but police headquarters is a major investment in the city, of all the options we looked at this is really the most effective.”

The site was selected due to its proximity to downtown, I-90, and access to 24-hour bus lines and the future Superior Midway city officials said.

“Catalyst for development so there’s a lot happening on superior and there’s a lot that’s going to happen and this is going to help move those things forward,” said Edman. 

Police have outgrown the current space at the Justice Center, over the years have splintered different units across several buildings.

“We’ve vacated a lot of the area at the justice center, which means we’ve separated a lot of our operations,” said Dorothy Todd, Deputy Chief and Chief of Staff of Cleveland Division of Police.

She estimated about 600 officers would use the building each day. There is also a plan to move the police museum to the new space. Architects said the goal is to preserve the historical architectural character while providing modern amenities for police.

“We want to make sure that we’re adding to the community, and we can be a part of the community and we’re making that space available for use as well,” said Todd. “We’re hoping that city council sees the project as we’re seeing it. It could potentially be a great opportunity for the Cleveland Division of Police.”