The new Southern Pines police station on West Pennsylvania Avenue is starting to take shape.

The steel frame of the building has risen over the course of the past few weeks, and Town Manager Reagan Parsons said the project appears to be on schedule for completion by the end of the year.

"It's moving along well, all things considered," he said.

Parsons said the project is still in the "early stages" of construction. The building has been framed and some additional site work is being completed. He said it's still too early in the project to nail down a specific date for completion.

The need for a new police station arose when the town's old municipal building on Broad Street was demolished in 2006. Since then, the Police Department has been located in the cramped old Access Printing building off Morganton Road near U.S. 1.

Council meetings have been held at the Douglass Community Center.

The police station will be adjacent to the Southern Pines Fire Department on Pennsylvania Avenue. The Town Council purchased the land for the building in 2007. The Southern Pines Farmers Market was previously located there.

The town has committed to making the new station environmentally friendly while being as fiscally responsible as possible. It will have several "green," or environmentally friendly aspects including storm water work that is already under way, automatic shut-off sinks, low-flow toilets, upgraded lights and windows, and use of green construction materials.

The town originally planned to build a new municipal complex on the site of the old one. It was to include a police station, meeting chambers and administrative offices.

While architects came up with several designs for a new complex, none were accepted by town leaders or residents.

Contact John Krahnert III at 693-2473 or by e-mail at jkrahnert@thepilot.com.