The Des Moines City Council agreed March 2 to establish a police department substation in the Redondo Square Shopping Center.

Lawmakers unanimously approved a five-year lease with the Joshua Green Corp., owner of the shopping center, for the store-front facility at Pacific Highway South and South 272nd Street.

The city will lease the space at no cost, but is responsible for the cost of necessary interior improvements.

Council members authorized the spending of $51,630 for those upgrades.

Details of the lease must be reviewed and given final approval by the council. Mayor Bob Sheckler said last week this probably will happen before the end of March.

If that happens, the interior remodel would begin around April 1 and police officers should be using the facility by early summer.

Sheckler said the Redondo police substation initially will be open from 9 to 11 a.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday.

But “these hours will be flexible depending on staff and Redondo-Woodmont community needs.”

He added that if a proposed property tax levy lid lift to fund additional police staffing passes in May, those hours could be expanded.

Councilwoman Susan White said, “I think [the substation is] going to be a good thing. It’s good that [the owners] offered it to us.”

Noting that “crime has gotten so bad down here,” she added that prostitution and drug dealing is impacting commercial activity in the area and has pushed crime into the Redondo and Woodmont neighborhoods.

Now “time will tell” if the substation helps reduce the crime rate in south Des Moines, White said.

“It will be a great asset to the residents of Redondo and Woodmont, declared Des Moines Police Chief Roger Baker.

“Right now, officers have to travel to the station downtown to complete reports. This will allow them to stay in the neighborhood and respond faster to calls in the area. This shows the city’s concern to servicing all areas of community.”

Baker noted that it will allow officers to interview victims and others without returning to the main station, and will give residents “a police presence that they can utilize more conveniently.”

Because of its location, he added, the substation will be available for use by officers from Kent, Federal Way and King County. That will give us an even greater police presence in that area.”