The Atlanta City Council passed a lease agreement on Wednesday to build a new training center. Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, the Atlanta Fire Department and the Atlanta Police Foundation are all excited to break ground.

“The current police academy is in an old, decaying former school building, marked by a leaky roof, often inoperable plumbing, and broken toilets.” The Atlanta Police Foundation noted in a released document. “The fire academy was literally condemned a year ago and Atlanta firefighters must go to Douglasville for training.”

The city of Atlanta has had enough. A new Atlanta Public Safety Training Center is now scheduled for construction, following the Atlanta City Council’s recent approval.

“I stand here as a product of the training center that was called temporary over 29 years ago, and we have constantly reminded our members that this space is temporary.” Atlanta Fire Chief Rod Smith said in a recent statement.

The new training center will be far from temporary. The center will be designed to provide operational, cultural and management training to law enforcement officers of the Atlanta Police Department and Atlanta Fire and Rescue.

“It will have lasting effects to make our city safe for the next 50 years.” Atlanta Police Foundation’s Dave Wilkinson said.

Spanning across 85-acres, the state-of-the-art facility is anticipated to cost approximately $90 million and planners hope to unveil the facility within two years. An additional 180-acres near the training center will be dedicated to greenspace.

Speaking at a recent press conference, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and Governor Brian Kemp both backed the $90 million project. Consequently, the city of Atlanta will be footing the bill for the center’s 30-year $1 million per year lease, which goes into effect in 2024.

The Atlanta Police Foundation will assist in funding the construction of the center, which will feature a list of new resources:

• Walking trails, picnic areas and public access greenspace
• 30 acres for urban farming
• Auditorium for police/fire and public use
• Stables and 40 acres of pastureland for Mounted Patrol
• Modular classroom and administration building
• EVOC course for emergency vehicle driver training: Fire engines, ambulances, police patrol cars
• Mock City for burn building training and urban police training
• K-9 unit kennel AND TRAINING
• Emergency Operations Center for collaborative law enforcement training
• Atlanta Police Leadership Institute
• Atlanta Fire/Rescue Academy
• Atlanta Police Academy
• Multi-use gymnasium for police, fire/rescue officers

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