The Manatee County Sheriff's Office cut the ribbon on a new 5,000-square-foot substation in Lakewood Ranch, putting specialized law enforcement units closer to one of the county's fastest-growing areas.

The ceremony took place Oct. 29, according to a Manatee County government announcement. The facility at 16440 Rangeland Parkway, near Premier Sports Campus North, will serve as a home base for the Sheriff's Office Selective Enforcement Division (SED), providing workspace for specialized personnel and strengthening the agency's presence in eastern Manatee County.

A new base for specialized units

The SED includes SWAT, traffic, K-9, command staff, school crossing guard supervisors and the Telephone Reporting Unit, the county said. The building features individual offices, a conference room, a squad room, property and evidence storage and additional support spaces.

Sheriff Rick Wells said the substation fills a gap in eastern Manatee County.

"It's an increased presence we've needed in east Manatee County, and it puts us in a better position to meet the demands of our community," Wells said, according to the county announcement.

The substation sits near the Lakewood Ranch Library, Premier Sports Campus and the new Athletic and Aquatic Center. The county said the location places law enforcement resources closer to residents, businesses and recreational destinations in the area.

Manatee County Commission Chairman Tal Siddique, who represents District 3, joined the ribbon-cutting alongside representatives from Fawley Bryant, the project's design firm, and Willis Smith Construction, the contractor.

Services available to residents

Once the substation opens to the public, a deputy is expected to staff the facility Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., according to Your Observer.

Residents will be able to file police reports and drop off expired medications through Project Drug Drop, excluding liquids and syringes.

Fingerprinting and in-person records services will remain available at the Sheriff's Office's main operations center in Bradenton.

Although the ribbon-cutting took place Oct. 29, the substation was not yet open to the public as of Your Observer's Nov. 1 report. Deputies were expected to move into the building over the following weeks, with the Sheriff's Office to announce when public services would begin.

An official public opening date had not been confirmed in the cited reports.

Replacing an older Lakewood Ranch substation

Capt. Andy Ramdath commands the new substation, Your Observer reported. The building replaces a former Lakewood Ranch information center that had served as a sheriff's substation on Lakewood Ranch Boulevard.

Ramdath, a 27-year veteran who graduated from the FBI National Academy in June, told Your Observer he remembers watching Lakewood Ranch being built from an aviation unit helicopter. He said he could not recall another new sheriff's station being constructed during his career.

The new facility has enough room to serve as a home base for 30 traffic deputies and for crossing guard supervisors to hold morning meetings.

The additional space will allow specialized units to operate from a permanent facility in eastern Manatee County while providing residents with another location to access certain Sheriff's Office services once it opens to the public.