Alamo city officials broke ground Thursday on a new public safety building.

The building was built near the post office on Tower Road. It will house the police station and municipal court under one roof.

The project will cost about $12 million, and nearly $3 million is being provided by federal funding.

The city said they would put in about $7 million, and the rest is being paid for with bonds that the city hopes to pay back in 10 years.

"This is a modern-day public safety building with all the bells and whistles; you name it, we have it, from the cells to the sally ports to the reception area to the dispatch area to the office area to the investigating rooms. Everything is high-tech; everything is modern. It will have the latest technology," Alamo Mayor J.R. Garza said.

The new building will be named after former Alamo Police Chief Arturo Espinosa. He worked for the department for 40 years and served as police chief for all but five of those years.

The new building should be complete in about a year, weather permitting.