CAIRO — Local leaders, business owners and residents packed into The Foundry on South Broad Street to discuss the fate of the city police station building next door.

A public input forum was held Thursday morning to allow residents the chance to share their thoughts as to what they would like to see in the building after the police department moves out this summer. Attendees participated in activities designed to gauge interest in several ideas for how best to use the 6,000 square foot structure, originally designed as a train depot.

Led by University of Georgia Archway Partnership representative Sharon Liggett, who facilitated the event, participants were asked to “dream big” by listing several ideas for how they would like to see the depot used without considering financial costs.

“When we start talking about money, we stop dreaming,” Liggett said. “This is a dreaming session.”

Participants then voted on those ideas by placing colored stickers representing their degree of favorability. More popular suggestions included turning the depot into a train museum, a location for hosting downtown events, a brewery or a welcome center.

Interim police chief Giovannie Santos led attendees on a tour of the building. Tour participants told Liggett afterward they were impressed by the building’s history, size and condition

Originally constructed in 1905, the depot was gifted to the city decades ago and found use as a police station in the mid-1970s. Located in the center of downtown, City Manager Chris Addleton said he wants the structure to become a “magnet” that can be used as a foundation for improving the city as a whole once the police department vacates the space for their new $3.3 million headquarters later this year.

With nearby Tallahassee lacking a walkable downtown experience, Liggett said the building’s new purpose could be a part of an effort to create a unique environment that could attract visitors from out of town.

“There are 380,000 people 35 minutes from here who looking for something to do,” she said.

Liggett said a report of ideas from both the morning forum and a second session scheduled Thursday evening will be complied and presented to the building’s stakeholders, likely some time in mid-April.