The City of Atlanta is building a new public safety training center to support its need for dedicated training space with modern facilities for personnel. The new center will allow sworn officers, civilian responders, firefighters, EMS, and E-911 staff to train locally and collaboratively, using modern philosophies and methodologies rooted in harm reduction.
The center is located in the South River region of Dekalb County, on 85 acres of land owned by the City of Atlanta. Because of its ecological importance, this area has been identified as one of the “Lungs of Atlanta,” and the city remains committed to its preservation through responsible stewardship now, and into the future.
Construction of the Public Safety Training Center will help inject new energy into efforts to make this area accessible to Atlanta residents and visitors. In fact, with the removal of thousands of illegally discarded mattresses, tires, and other environmental hazards, significant improvements have already been made to the area.
Input from surrounding neighborhoods and guidance from community members across Atlanta has been crucial to the project’s development. Recommendations from community groups have led to plan improvements like relocating entry points for improved traffic flow in neighborhoods, increasing sound barriers to reduce noise pollution, memorializing past uses of the land, ensuring that trail access will be inclusive, and more. Click here for additional information about community engagement in the planning process and for the final reports from the Community Stakeholder Advisory Committee(CSAC), and the Public Safety Training Center Task Force.
Occupancy of the center is projected to begin in late 2024.
Learn more about why Atlanta needs a new training center, including what will and won’t be there, and current plans for buildings, greenspace, and training curricula.
Learn more about why this site was chosen, the history of the area, and previous land uses.
A community-led initiative to turn the current city jail into a Center for Equity, realized through Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms’ transformational vision. It holds the potential to be a national model in the US, providing increased resources, wellness, and healing for the community.
Learn about community involvement in shaping plans for the training center, public safety training curricula, green space, sustainability, and memorializing previous uses of the land.