EL PASO, Texas – (KFOX14/CBS4) — Nearly seven years after El Paso voters approved a major bond package, the city is moving into the design phase for a new shared headquarters for the El Paso Police and Fire departments — a project now expected to be completed in 2029.
The public safety complex is part of a 2019 voter-approved bond that allocates $413 million toward public safety.
Agenda documents show the total investment for the police and fire headquarters project is expected to be about $200 million.
FULL UPDATE PRESENTATION
Design for the complex is set to begin in April, about a year after construction was first expected to be finished.
The complex had previously been expected to be completed in 2025.
RELATED: El Paso’s new police and fire training academy faces delays
Rep. Deanna Maldonado-Rocha, who represents East El Paso and the Lower Valley, said during city council ‘a previous meeting that the presentation on the project’s funding answered key questions.
“The presentation was exactly when I talked to you about it. It’s exactly what we needed to see where the money’s coming from, how it’s getting funded upon approval,” Maldonado-Rocha said.
“Imagine where you all are going to be with state-of-the-art facilities that you all are going to be receiving once this this project is complete. So, I hope that that everybody on council will support this.”
The project has already undergone major changes, including its planned location.
It was originally set to be built on a parcel of more than 300 acres in the Northeast near Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. It is now planned for a 50-acre site on Global Reach Drive near the El Paso International Airport.
In addition to serving as the new shared headquarters, the facility is expected to include a shared training academy for both departments.
El Paso Fire Department Chief Jonathan Killings told City Council the new facilities would be a significant upgrade for employees.
“This means a great deal to this organization. You all have seen the facilities that we work out of,” Killings said. “Like Ms. Rocha had mentioned, our employees do a fantastic job operating out of those facilities.”
“It allows us to look at that and be more efficient and also take care of our employees,” he said.
The city expects the project to be completed in 2029, barring any unforeseen events.
RELATED: El Paso City Council relocates public safety complex to cut costs, expand future growth
Sign up to receive the top interesting stories from in and around our community once daily in your inbox.