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Today, a Monroe Shops building located at Dallas Area Rapid Transit's (DART) Blue Line Illinois Station will reopen as the new home of the DART Police Department.

The building, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, was rehabilitated to house the agency’s police department in preparation for DART’s anticipated 90-mile expansion during the next few years, agency officials said in a prepared statement. Built in 1914, the building previously was a train maintenance facility for the Texas Interurban Railway, which linked much of north Texas by passenger rail until 1948.

Construction began in July 2009 to transform the building, which includes 69,000 square feet of space for the police department. Agency officials plan to apply for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification for the building.

"When you look at this historical building it reminds you of the era of interurban rail travel, but now it will play two new roles: for law enforcement and as a catalyst for transit oriented development," said Stephen Salin, DART vice president of rail planning.