The refurbishment and enhancement of Athlone Garda Station continues with the aspiration that ongoing works at the building based on the town’s west side will be completed within the two year time frame initially noted for the redevelopment project.
The original detached two storey Garda station, which was built in 1947, is undergoing a transformation to meet with the present standards necessary to police within the local community and work on the building redevelopment, under the guidance of Kilcawley Construction, has been proceeding on schedule with the hope that the project will be completed close to the third quarter of 2020.
The ongoing project is deemed to be the fulcrum of the evolution of the west side and coupled with news that the Athlone Tourism Cultural Quarter has been included as one of three key projects chosen for funding under the Project Ireland 2040 Urban Regeneration and Development Fund, this centralised area of the town is set for a complete revitalisation when works culminate.
Speaking this week to the Athlone Advertiser, Sergeant Andrew Haran, spoke of the three phases under which the building development project was proceeding.
“Presently, work on Phase 1 of the project remains ongoing and it is hoped to have this focus of the redevelopment work completed towards the end of April. Being within close proximity to Athlone Castle, when works originally commenced, a number of artefacts of historical value were found which were carefully scrutinised and analysed by a local archaeologist prior to the project proceeding and credit to the construction team who have worked diligently in this regard,” Sergeant Haran remarked.
Expressing his hope that such valuable artefacts may be put on display within the refurbished and enhanced Garda station, the Sergeant noted that when Phase 1 project works conclude, all personnel will then transfer to the new build allowing construction to commence on the original building.
“Phase 2, which will encompass a complete refurbishment of our original building is expected to take eight months to complete and it is hoped that work in this regard will start in May. When this phase of work is concluded, both renovated buildings in the state of art facility will be united by glass atrium which will be a stand out feature of the redevelopment project. Allowing for the intricacy of work involved, we would be hopeful that the new station will be in full operational mode as we approach the third quarter of 2020,” Sergeant Haran commented.
With a workforce of approximately 75 in the Garda station, the new build, when completed, will boast modern operational attributes which will be of benefit to the station incumbents and have a positive impact on the local community.
