Several community groups in the Morgan Park and adjoining Beverly neighborhood mobilized quickly in recent years when the antiquated police station at 1830 Monterey Ave. was faced with the possibility of extinction, city department of planning and development officials say. Construction of the new station gives police officers a lockup, women's facilities and technology the old building lacks, they say. It also will provide parking for 325 cars, rather than the current 30, which forces police personnel to park on side streets.

Although owners of single-family homes on the five-acre site oppose the plan and suggest other vacant parcels in the area be used, a citizen representative and planning officials say none of the buildings slated for demolition have historic value, and the proposed site was the only one considered because of its direct access to a Metra commuter rail as well as bus lines.

On the far West Side, the new facility will replace a cramped, outdated station more than a mile away at 5327 W. Chicago Ave. The 4.07-acre site for the new building is in an area containing commercial buildings and vacant lots. "It will serve as an anchor," says Alderman Isaac Carothers. "I've gotten so many calls from business people interested in that area."