Manteca’s new police headquarters — that could open in 2028 — is being designed to support a police force of 129 officers.

The department today has 83 sworn officer positions.

“Without Measure Q, it wouldn’t be possible,” Manteca Police Chief Stephen Schuler said of the three-quarter cent, 20-year tax measure voters approved in November 2024.

The new station is being built on the southern half of four acres the city acquired in the 600 block of South Main Street.

It will also change traffic patterns somewhat in the neighborhood to the west.

That’s because the driveway to the new police headquarters will tie into the current T-intersection of Main Street with Wawona Street.

In doing so — and in order to accommodate left turns in and out of the police station — a portion of the existing median on Main Street will be removed.

That will allow left turns from Wawona to northbound Main Street.

Turning left from northbound Main to Wawona is already allowed.

Traffic signals will also be placed at Wawona and Main.

Schuler noted issues with a PG&E easement delayed the planning process several months.

Construction drawings are now expected to be completed Aug. 1.

Once the project goes to bid and then a contract awarded, it is expected to take 18 months to build.

The need for as new police station was considered pressing in 2002 when the council at the time agreed the existing facilities built in the 1970s when the city had 22,000 residents had become inadequate.

Manteca now has 95,000 residents.

There were two attempts to build a new police station before 2010 at different locations including where it is now being built.

The city actually bought the 600 Main Street location for the first time 25 years ago with the intent to build a South County justice center. It would also have housed several Superior Court departments as well as satellite offices for the district attorney and public defender.

That project fell apart when the county opted to replace the downtown Stockton courthouse instead.

The other was a proposal to convert the Qualex building the city is now remodeling into a homeless navigation center.

The city originally used the now defunct redevelopment agency to buy the Qualex building with the intent to repurpose it as a new police department.

The preliminary work including a new roof was done but the city didn’t procced as it lacked funding.

Manteca, as of June 30, 2025, had a balance of $48.9 million in government facilities fees collected from growth.

The city will be able to tap into some of the growth fees wedded with bonding against Measure Q receipts to finance the police headquarters construction.

Measure Q will also be used in conjunction with fire facilities fees to build the city’s sixth fire station that will be located in southwest Manteca.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com