Palo Alto police officers are moving into the city's new $123.5 million Public Safety Building on Sherman Avenue, ending months of delays that left the facility largely empty after its November 2025 ribbon-cutting.

City Manager Ed Shikada confirmed in an Aug. 24 update that the building is now operational and the former Forest Avenue station has closed. Police patrol is set to begin operating from the new location this week.

A joint police and fire honor guard flag-raising ceremony is scheduled for 11 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 2, to formally mark the building as operational. The community is invited, and light refreshments will be served.

The dispatch center is expected to complete its move-in by Oct. 1, after construction wraps up the last week of September. The center also provides dispatch services for Stanford University's police and fire departments and is part of a tri-city consolidated system with Mountain View and Los Altos.

A long road to move-in

The three-story, 57,000-square-foot building will house about 150 city employees across the Police Department, 911 Emergency Dispatch Center, Emergency Operations Center, Office of Emergency Services and Fire Department administration. It was the top priority in the city's 2014 Infrastructure Plan, funded by two voter-approved tax measures.

But the building sat largely vacant for months after more than 200 residents attended its grand opening on Nov. 16, 2025. As San José Spotlight reported in May 2026, police and dispatchers remained at their old Forest Avenue base while the city and general contractor Swinerton Builders clashed over more than 300 change orders totaling over $20 million in additional costs.

Public Works Director Brad Eggleston said in May that the delay was “largely due to staff having to contract with third-party contractors for work the general contractor has refused to do,” according to San José Spotlight

Shikada's update also noted that Cal Avenue businesses and residents should expect increased police presence in the area now that patrol operates from the nearby building.