Montgomery County police have moved their Sixth District station in Gaithersburg as part of a plan to provide the growing office with more space.
The new station at 45 West Watkins Mill Road will open Wednesday night, police said. The old station at 18749 North Frederick Road is now closed.
The Sixth District was created in 2000 to serve the growing needs of Montgomery Village and Gaithersburg. It was never believed that the 9,000-square-foot station would be the district’s permanent home. The long-term plan is to move the station into the Alexandria Technology Center in Gaithersburg, but that is still under construction.
Meanwhile, the station’s needs have grown, police said, and they need more space. The new station on West Watkins Road is 19,000 square feet — the same size as the future permanent station.
But the station that will be located in the technology center will have more room for parking police department vehicles than either of the temporary stations, police said.
“We are very pleased to have more space for our staff,” said Sixth District Cmdr. Willie Parker-Loan. “I want to assure our community members that this move is made independently from our patrol officer duties, and there will be complete coverage as usual.”
The station on North Frederick Road was closed Monday, and Sixth District officers were able to use the county’s Fifth District station in Germantown as well as the Gaithersburg police department’s station. Patrols were not disrupted, police said.
“This is one more step in the progression of obtaining a permanent facility for the Sixth District,” Parker-Loan said.
