THE EXISTING Public Safety building on Acacia Parkway in Garden Grove (Shutterstock).

By Jim Tortolano/Orange County Tribune

The proposed new Public Safety building took a step forward on Tuesday night as the Garden Grove City Council heard a report on the status of the project and approved $1.2 million to planners and consultants for the facility.

“I’m really excited about this,” said Mayor Pro Tem George Brietigam (District 1). “It is long overdue.”

Proposed is not just construction of a new police department facility, but also a parking structure and a new public park as the entire Civic Center  – bordered by Euclid Street, Acacia Parkway, Stanford Avenue and 8th Street – would undergo a remake.

The entire project is estimated to cost $108 million, and will replace most of an aging Public Safety building that opened in the early 1970s and which is considered too cramped, without sprinklers or proper Americans with Disability access.

While no final decision has been made, it’s likely that the new structures would be located west of the GGPD’s current site, at the corner of Euclid and Acacia. The existing fire facility will remain where it is with the new park to its east and affordable housing at 8th Street.

Also Tuesday night, a public hearing was held on a proposal to build a 13-unit two-story single-family home project at 9071, 9081 and 9091 Lampson Ave. (near Magnolia Avenue) and the council gave its approval of a request for a site plan and other approvals on the project.

Additionally, an update on the status of the Central Cities (Garden Grove, Westminster and Fountain Valley) Navigation Center for the unsheltered was given to the council. Underway now is the process of selecting a service provider to operate the facility, which is planned to open by the end of 2023.

The next meeting of the city council is set for Feb. 14.