LC Police building —designed to withstand storms — ready for officers
Published 7:23 am Friday, December 19, 2025
The city of Lake Charles will be better prepared for any future storms with the new Lake Charles Police Department Investigation Building.
LCPD and city administrators celebrated a major milestone Thursday morning with the ribbon-cutting of its new Investigations Building, 1028 Enterprise Boulevard, to mark the official opening of the facility.
The $4.8 million, 11,000 square-foot building took approximately two years to design and build.
The project represents a significant “milestone” in the city’s recovery from Hurricanes Laura and Delta, which in 2020 left the former Investigations Building damaged beyond repair, said Mayor Marshall Simien.
The new building provides a permanent, modern space designed to better support their mission and improve efficiency.
For more than five years, the Investigations Bureau operated out of temporary trailers beside the department’s Main Station at 830 Enterprise Boulevard.
“It’s more than just brick and mortar. It represents the heart of our community; it represents a renewed commitment that the department has to serving the citizens of Lake Charles. … This building is designed to better serve our citizens, not just today, but for decades to come.”
Police Chief Shawn Caldwell said “hindsight is 20–20,” and that LCPD is now keenly aware of the importance of ensuring law enforcement has a place to “weather the storm” during emergencies.
“We have a responsibility, the police department, to, at least some of us, to stay,” said Caldwell. “The citizens, the community, the city – they depend on us … when the storm leaves, to secure, and to keep everything safe,” he said. “We have all the confidence in the architects and the contractors and the builders that we will be able to withstand any future storms that hopefully never come.”
City Administrator John Cardone said they worked to get FEMA to consider the building a total loss so that it could be rebuilt “better, stronger, more resilient.”
The building was built with resilience in mind, and can withstand winds up to 140 miles per hour – the upper wind speed of a category three hurricane – and will be a “tremendous asset” to LCPD, he added.
The facilities also include an emergency generator, showers, washers and dryers, and “everything you need to live out of here for a couple of weeks,” said Architect David Brossett.
It will house offices for detectives and records clerks, and has facilities for the investigation and forensics divisions.
Individuals seeking records from the Lake Charles Police Department can now make requests directly at the new location.
