The Massachusetts Association of Minority Law Enforcement Officers (MAMLEO) will build a new facility on the site of its long-time headquarters at 61 Columbia Rd. near Blue Hill Ave. The group explained its plans to abutters during a city-facilitated meeting this week.

While some organizations have cashed out and relocated with increasing land values, the organization’s leader said such a move would betray its mission.

“For us, it was important we kept MAMLEO in Boston, in Dorchester, where the organization began,” said Jeff Lopes, an officer with the Boston Police Department (BPD), who is the group’s current president.

“This project isn’t just about building our new headquarters but building relationships between community and law enforcement to have thoughtful discussions about policing and implementing change in the policing world…We want this to be a true community center that fully opens our doors.”

The non-profit organization, founded in 1969, represents minority law enforcement officers statewide. For decades, MAMLEO has been housed in a re-purposed building that once doubled as a Jewish synagogue and school, alongside a large vacant lot.

In 2021, the group proposed building a five-story structure with its headquarters on the first floor and senior housing above as a way to respond to the housing crisis and their needs to update the current building.

However, Lopes said, that idea didn’t work out, so they’ve come up with a smaller, one-story project to serve the organization and the community.

“The amount of work for a small non-profit like us wasn’t feasible,” he said, noting it would have cost an estimated $30 million. “We have brought it down to one story and that brings us to a $4.5 million or $5 million project. We’ll be very busy now in raising money and getting for-profit organizations to invest in us.”

From the organization’s perspective, its location is perfect, but its building is outdated – particularly due to the growth in membership as hiring of minority officers has expanded statewide.

“We’ve outgrown that building,” he said. “We’ve owned it for decades and it’s served us well, but we want to create more of a space open to the community and to our members and potential members.”

Lopes envisions rentals for birthday parties, graduation ceremonies, even middle school dances.

That would all take place in the new flex-space auditorium they plan to use for trainings and conferences, but a space that in a few hours’ time could be transformed to host a community function. There will also be offices for MAMLEO, as well as a 27-vehicle parking lot.

Downstairs will be a weight room, and while members will enjoy that amenity, Lopes said, it also touches on policing: “It’s a place people can go to get supported in law enforcement and a place people can go to get into law enforcement.”

After they move into the new building, MAMLEO hopes to partner with statewide training organizations like the Massachusetts Police Training Committee (MPTC), based in Randolph. He said they want to bring more of that kind of training to the city, where little exists now.

“In Boston, the only MPTC facility is the Boston Police Academy,” he said. “Not many trainings are happening in Boston. We want to provide that here in Boston on Columbia Road.”

An abutter’s meeting regarding the new proposal was to take place Wednesday night, with more review processes upcoming. If all goes well, Lopes said, they hope to complete the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) process by the end of the year, and break ground in 2026.