The stingy renovation of the Inquirer building is a crime against both police and the public

The historic Inquirer and Daily News building at Broad and Callowhill Streets has been transformed into a combined headquarters for the police, medical examiner, Office of Emergency Services, and morgue. Although the 1925 building rises 18 stories, most of the new offices are concentrated in the lower seven floors, where the mighty presses once rolled.
TOM GRALISH / Staff Photographer

But from what I saw during a 90-minute tour of The Inquirer’s old home (once my work home, too), it’s hard to imagine that the renovated building will provide a conducive environment for the much-needed changes. The $280 million construction project, which was managed by the Kenney Administration and executed by developer Bart Blatstein’s Tower Investments, has produced a dismal municipal bunker, walled off from the surrounding city and the people the police are meant to protect.

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