The Oxford Board of Aldermen voted to approve designs for a new headquarters for the Oxford Police Department on Monday.

The board approved a plan to turn the Oxford Enterprise Center into a new police headquarters back in 2021 to help accommodate for the rapid growth of the department in recent years.

They approved a design proposal from McCarty Architects, PA in July 2022 in hopes that the new facility will be open for business as soon as 2024. The estimated cost for the project at that time was $15 million, but special project director Mark Levy told the board during a special session on Tuesday that the estimated cost is now down to $12 million.

As part of the project, the current OPD headquarters will be turned into a facility for the Oxford Parks Commission.

The project now moves into the development stage, with the bidding process expected to start in July in hopes of breaking ground in September.