Announcing a First-of-Its-Kind Public Safety Training Center
The City of Dothan, Alabama and the Wiregrass Foundation are partnering with RDG to design a 25-acre revolutionary public safety training campus.
The Wiregrass Foundation, a foundation rooted in improving the health, education, and quality of life in Southern Alabama, has made its largest project investment to date with a $25 million contribution towards the construction of the Wiregrass Public Safety Center. The Foundation has formed a strategic alliance with the City of Dothan, Houston County and other private businesses to fulfill a comprehensive mission to be the model of excellence in public safety preparation and response by integrating training, development, communication, collaboration, and community engagement.
RDG Planning & Design teamed up with Interact Business Group to complete the comprehensive business and master plans, which assessed city-wide and regional training requirements and estimated capital costs, ongoing future operations and maintenance funding. RDG is now continuing with design, and construction is planned to commence in late 2017.
Once complete, the 25,000-SF classroom and administration building will anchor the training site with a five-story computer-controlled burn drill tower, Class A burn building, 25-lane outdoor gun range, tire drafting area, tactical/simulations house, live fire shoot house, 3.7-acre driving skills pad, tactical village and a K-9 training and kennel facility. The training site also includes props for urban search and rescue, confined space, collapsed trench, vehicle extrication and hazardous materials containment training. The site is master planned for future training environments, including rail cars, residential houses and additional tactical village buildings. Expected for completion in August 2019, the regional center is believed to be the first of its kind in Alabama.