Montgomery County’s New Public Safety Training Academy Breaks Ground

By Adrian Maties, Associate Editor

Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett joined numerous other local officials last week to celebrate the groundbreaking for the new Public Safety Training Academy. The facility is part of Montgomery County Multi Agency Service Park, another of Leggett’s Smart Growth Initiative projects expected to turn a former industrial area near the Shady Grove Metro station into an urban village.

The current PSTA is located at 9710 Great Seneca Highway. It was completed in 1973; since then, the training needs of public safety agencies have changed significantly. The new facility will have none of the limitations of the old one and numerous enhancements currently not available, such as expanded classroom space and an improved indoor firing range.

According to Montgomery County officials, the new PSTA will include a 119,334-square-foot Academic Building, a 4,850-square-foot Fire Residential Training Building, an 11,300-square-foot Fire Commercial Training Building, a 12,000-square-foot High Bay and Fire Training Support Building, a 15,386-square-foot Apparatus Building, a 6,000-square-foot Canine Training Building, a 12,000-square-foot Multi-Use Cityscape Structure Training area, a 2,075-square-foot Department of Transportation Vehicle Training Support Building, and a 2,095-square-foot Fuel Facility.

The project’s construction is expected to cost $69 million. It is scheduled to open in 2016. Hess Construction is the general contractor, with Baker and Associates and LeMay Erickson Willcox Architects as architects. The new PSTA is designed to achieve LEED Silver certification.