The work is expected to be complete in January, and all the divisions should be back in place by February, said George Estrada, the city's public facilities director.

Police Chief Bryan T. Norwood also said all of the displaced offices will move back to Congress Street.

Estrada last week led a tour of the work in progress for the recently appointed police chief, Mayor John M. Fabrizi and other city officials.

The chief, whose office and staff have been in the City Hall Annex on Broad Street, said he is eager to move in.

"It's very impressive. The office is awesome," Norwood said after the tour. "I'm excited to get here."

Asbestos is a cancer-causing, fire-retardant mineral. Inhaling its particles damages lung tissue.

Estrada started the tour on the newly floored and whitewashed hallway outside of the chief's third-floor office.

"We have completely repainted," he said.

Walking into the chief's spacious office, featuring new carpet, Estrada pointed to gleaming wood panels set into the wall.

"We've cleaned everything, buffed everything up," he said. "Everything was so dingy."

"This is like a brand-new office building," he said.

"Wow!" exclaimed Fabrizi, as he poked his head into other third-floor offices. "Wow."

Also refurbished was the booking area, with new cells, painted white instead of dingy gray, officials said.

Booking, once considered a "sauna" in the summer because of lack of ventilation, is also getting an overhaul of the heating and air-conditioning system.

The building was also rewired, added Michael Feeney, the city's chief administrative officer.

The $1.5 million project, which started in February, was originally proposed to last five months by moving out all the offices at once, Estrada said. But he changed the approach to do the work in a floor-by-floor process.

Also, asbestos was found in previously inaccessible areas of the building, according to Estrada, which extended the completion date.

But the asbestos removal has helped with other renovations, he said. The presence of asbestos had prevented any work on the building's HVAC system or wiring, Estrada said.

The work so far has covered the first, second and third floors, leaving the first floor and lower level.

The first floor houses the front desk, records room, detective bureau, the parking office, and other divisions.

The patrol and traffic divisions and the evidence storage room are on the lower level.

The detectives will be moved into City Hall Annex and other offices will move to the West and East Side precincts until the work concludes.

Aaron Leo, who covers regional issues, can be reached at 330-6222.