The Cookeville Department of Leisure Services completed a multi-year renovation transforming the former Police Department HQ into a new administrative hub.
Leisure Services Director Chad McDonald said the department moved from its original offices in the basement of City Hall into the space located underneath the Performing Arts Center in 2021. Since then, McDonald said his department has made multiple upgrades to the historic building.
“It’s great for us in the Leisure Services Department to have this space,” McDonald said. “It’s great for the Performing Arts Center to be able to utilize some of that space as well for performances. And it’s great for the police department because the police department built a, a great headquarters for them on Neal Street, so it was a win-win for everybody.”
McDonald said the renovation project involved a complete remodel of the administrative offices and detective areas formerly used by law enforcement. McDonald said the building has a unique history as a former jail, and the department converted the original jail cells into dressing rooms for performers.
“It’s interesting to tell the history of that to performers as they’re down here, you know, showing them, why do we have these long, narrow windows in our dressing room?” McDonald said. “Well, this used to be a jail cell that you’re in right now. So, it’s interesting for them to find out.”
McDonald said the facility was also constructed as a fallout shelter during the nuclear age. McDonald said the site still contains historical remnants from that era, including old bunks for shelter usage and underground tanks designed for water and fuel storage.
“Transitioning over to this space has been great,” McDonald said. “Again, we have a space that the public can find, so we’re right across the street from the post office downtown on Broad, and we have a sign out front, we didn’t have any of that before.”
McDonald said the new location improves community engagement and access because citizens no longer have to navigate the labrynth basement of City Hall to find the department.
“It doesn’t really affect the day-to-day operations for the Leisure Services Department, we’re doing sort of the same things we were doing before, it just helps us interact with the public in a more public way,” McDonald said. “They don’t have to search for us, we can direct them right to our front door and it makes it easier on the citizens.”
McDonald said the city also finished a campus-wide project to improve the back parking lot and access to Dogwood Park from Walnut Avenue. McDonald said crews removed the fencing where police vehicles were previously parked to create a more welcoming environment for patrons attending events at the park or the Performing Arts Center.
“We’ve got the new splash pad that opened, we’ve got a new playground over in Cane Creek Park that’s also just about opened,” McDonald said. “But we also have activities happening in our traditional facilities like the recreation center and the gymnasium and the Performing Arts Center, Dogwood Park, Cane Creek Park. Get out there and enjoy what we have to offer for you as a citizen of the city of Cookeville.”
The recreation center at Cane Creek Park regularly hosts pickup basketball and volleyball games, and costs $1 for a day-long pass.
