It’s moving day at the police station.

Thursday, police department employees picked their ways through a maze of packing boxes in preparation for today’s move to the new $2.9 million Athens Police Department building at East Hobbs and Shaw streets.

The move is more than just a couple of blocks down the street; it’s also a move into the 21st Century for a department that has been working out of cramped quarters for many years.

The city stopped incarcerating prisoners at the old police station because of the unhealthy, unsafe, and crowded conditions. The city entered a contract to accept prisoners at the new Limestone County Sheriff’s Department and Detention Center on Elm Street.

The new police station has three holding cells—one adjacent to the courtroom and two adjacent to the booking room—but no facilities for extended stays.

The courtroom has a television monitor and pull down screen for presentations, and removable, stackable chairs in case the room needs to be used for receptions or training. There is an adjoining conference room.

The first floor contains a court records/magistrates’ office, mechanical rooms, electronic doors, reception area with bullet-proof glass, police records room with rolling file system, communications room, roll call/training room, workout room with adjoining locker rooms, showers and restrooms, booking room with adjacent shift officer’s office, sally port, three lieutenants’ offices, patrol captain’s office and an interview room.

Upstairs contains a fully-equipped kitchen and break room, an armory for storage of heavy equipment, computer room with its own air-conditioning system, detective offices, interrogation rooms with adjoining one-way glassed walls for observation. Administrative offices are also upstairs as well as evidence room

The building was designed by Krebs and Associates architectural firm and Pearce Construction of Huntsville the main contractor.

The move to the new facility is scheduled to occur over the next few days. The city will hold an open house to show off the new building at a later date.