The University of Wisconsin-Madison Police Department has been struggling to find office space on campus for years.

As it stands, the department is spread across three buildings: the headquarters at 1429 Monroe St., parts of the Air Force ROTC building next door and in offices at the School of Nursing 1.5 miles away.

The department's long-held goal of bringing everyone together in one building, however, is within sight.

The UWPD hopes to break ground soon on a $4.8 million addition to its headquarters that will provide more than 16,000 square feet of new usable space in addition to updates to meet accreditation standards.

"The phrase around here is everything is going to be better in the new building. And that phrase has been around for years," UWPD public information officer Marc Lovicott said. "It's just been one of those things where we have been out of space for a long time."

He said that in the current setup, as many as three staff members can share one office. That's troublesome in situations that require privacy.