City officials gathered along with the police department Dec. 9 to celebrate the grand opening of the North Little Rock Justice Center.
The two-story brick-and-glass complex is an 82,000-SF facility located in downtown North Little Rock, just off of Interstate 40. The Justice Center allows all of the city’s existing police buildings to be under one roof (substations will still exist) and houses the North Little Rock District Courts, the North Little Rock Information Technology Department and a 5,000-SF public meeting room, in addition to North Little Rock police officers.
The grand opening event, which drew a crowd of over 200 supporters, included a flag ceremony led by the NLR Police Department Honor Guard and was accompanied by performances from the Arkansas Game and Fish Pipe & Drum Corp.
North Little Rock Mayor Terry Hartwick, current Police Chief Patrick Thessing and former Police Chief Mike Davis were among city officials who spoke briefly before the ribbon cutting ceremony, which was led by former Mayor Joe Smith. The complex has been years in the making and was a special project for Smith, he said.
The $30 million police and courts building was made possible thanks in large part to North Little Rock voters who passed a one cent sales tax in 2018 for its funding. Half of that was a permanent half-percent tax for city operations, and the other half was a five-year tax dedicated to the Justice Center, fire department upgrades and infrastructure work.
The city made a land swap with the North Little Rock School District to put the main building and a 6,500-SF annex on the old site of Fisher Armory and the district’s administrative headquarters. The city paid the district $500,000 and gave it the existing police headquarters at 200 Pershing, immediately north of North Little Rock High School and its football stadium.
“Thank you to the citizens of North Little Rock for your continued support of our employees,” officials said. “The new North Little Rock Justice Center symbolizes the excellence and growth of our city as well as the professionalism of the men and women involved in the criminal justice process.”
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