Net-Zero Station for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department Supports Low-Carbon Efforts

Construction has commenced for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department’s Northwest Division, located in North Carolina. Swinerton Builders is serving as the general contractor for the $19.7-million build. The project includes sustainable elements that create renewable energy onsite as part of Charlotte’s goal to power facilities and fleet vehicles entirely with zero-carbon sources by 2030. The team broke ground this summer for an anticipated completion in September 2026.

As construction manager, Swinerton will oversee preconstruction, compliance, field operations and risk management. This project is part of the Sustainable and Resilient Charlotte by 2050 Resolution passed by the Charlotte City Council in 2018.

The police station is a one-story, 16,000-square-foot steel-frame building expected to house approximately 50 employees. Designed by architecture firm C DESIGN, it includes 11 private offices, two meeting spaces, detective bullpen, suspect interview room, secure evidence and weapons storage and rooms for mechanical and electrical equipment. Employee amenities feature a fitness room, break room with kitchen, along with two locker rooms with bathrooms.

The station will be climate-controlled by a geothermic well-field heating and cooling system that uses the stable temperature of the earth to heat and cool the building without the use of fuel or electricity. A solar field is also planned to provide renewable energy to power the building’s infrastructure.