Although it might look from the outside as though the new Chelsea Police station will open its doors any day now, but residents will need to be patient for a little while longer for their first peak inside.

The new $2.5 million building won’t house the city’s police force until July 16, but it might be the new site for City Council meetings next month. Currently, the council and Planning Commission meet at the Washington Street Education Center.

“I get asked all the time by people,” said Chelsea Police Chief Ed Toth, but July 16 is the scheduled move-in date, “And there will be an open house after that.”

"The project is on schedule,” City Manager John Hanifan said via email. “The building is substantially complete, inside and out.”

He said the move date was pushed back about a month because of scheduling issues for the 911 system that are beyond the city’s control. “This will allow us a little more time to get the building operational and all of the potential ‘move’ issues resolved,” Hanifan said. “All of us are excited.”

Toth told the City Council last week that when you move a police force and an emergency 911 phone system, you have to make sure everything is working properly before a switch is made. It’s not like plugging in a new telephone in your home.

So, for several days after the police are inside the building, which is across Main Street from the current city offices in the Chelsea State Bank building, Metro Dispatch and HVA will be fielding resident’s police and fire emergency calls respectively, Toth said.

The Chelsea Police Department has eight full-time officers, including the chief and a K-9 officer. There are seven part-time officers, three full-time dispatchers, a records clerk, two parking officers, three crossing guards and three reserves. It’s currently housed in a small store front building at 104 East Middle St.

The roughly 6,600 square-foot, one-story new police station is located on three city lots at the corner of South Main and East Summit streets.

“It looks good,” Mayor Jason Lindauer said.

Driving by the building on Main Street, motorists can see a number of chairs inside that are being tested by city staff. The City Council recently approved the purchase of some new office furniture for the building, and the chairs were brought in for a try-out before a final purchase is made.

The plan for the building went through several changes and is about 20 percent smaller than the original design. The total first-floor footprint is about 7,270 square feet and there are about 49 parking spaces, with four barrier-free ones.

Included are three holding cells and a sally port — a secure area where prisoners can be driven to the station by police officers.

“Chelsea law enforcement has done an outstanding job and it is right and fitting to have a facility that is in keeping with their commitment to Chelsea citizens,” Lindauer said. He called the building “a 50-year solution to a 30-year problem.”

The city’s Downtown Development Authority contributed $500,000 to the project and the remainder of the costs are being paid by 15-year bonds.

Lisa Allmendinger is a regional reporter for AnnArbor.com. She can be reached at lisaallmendinger@annarbor.com. For more Chelsea stories, visit our Chelsea page.