Sheriff's Office begins moving into new facility

Administrative and sworn staff for the Pitt County Sheriff’s Office have a new home that leaders said will provide a consolidated space to help meet the needs of a growing community and free up existing space for other county offices.

The 33,863-square-foot sheriff’s administration building stands at 100 New Hope Road near Greene Street and will house approximately the 150 Pitt County Sheriff’s Office staffers who do not work at the Pitt County Detention Center just up the road.

The project’s total cost came out to $17.1 million, Pitt County said, a shade under the $17.3 million reported at its groundbreaking in January 2023.

During a ribbon-cutting at the facility on Monday, Sheriff Paula Dance guided a tour of the space, which boasts offices, interview rooms, break spaces, a workout room and conference rooms for staff to work under the same roof.

Sheriff’s office staff have been headquartered out of the Pitt County Courthouse. They also operated out of separate buildings around Greenville.

“We are excited, it’s sort of surreal,” Dance said Monday. “We’ve been waiting on this day in the recent years, but we’ve been fighting for this for 20-30 years, even sheriffs before me. When I say fighting I mean asking to have a place of our own.

“I couldn’t be happier this happened under my tenure. I carried on the fight in trying to get a home for us after the other two sheriffs had done what they could do.”

Patrol staff were set to move into the building this week with other units gradually transitioning to the office through Sept. 11.

Dance said that specialized equipment for communications staff is being installed and that those workers will be fully integrated into the building in October or November. Courthouse employees like bailiffs will remain at the Pitt County Courthouse.

“It is a gradual rolling people in process at this point,” Dance said.

Pitt County’s crime lab will remain at the Pitt County Detention Center until a standalone building is installed at the new administrative building, Dance said. A four-bay garage also will be a separate building on campus, though Dance was not sure when those projects will be undertaken.

When staff transitions to the space, Dance said it will have room for growth. She is in the works to fill a handful of investigator positions, she said.

Pitt County Manager Janis Gallagher said the courthouse space being vacated by the sheriff’s office will be partially filled by the county’s new pre-trial services program. County staff also will work with court personnel to make plans for the newly opened space in the courthouse and other buildings vacated by the sheriff’s office.

“Before we started this project, when we did the planning and design, we had a study ... that was a downtown space utilization, and it included the courthouse,” Gallagher said. “We’ll look back to that and consider entities like juvenile services. Until we move forward with the First Street corridor plan, we’ll likely see some folks transition into the First Street building that the sheriff will vacate.”