Indio Public Safety Campus set to open soon as questions remain over future expansion

After a nearly year-long delay, Indio's new Public Safety Campus is set to be operational by spring 2024.

The 43,000-square-foot facility, located at 46800 Jackson St., will be made up of three separate buildings. Indio Fire Station Number 1, totaling approximately 13,500 square feet, a new dispatch center totaling approximately 7,000 square feet, and a new public safety services building totaling approximately 22,000 square feet.

The three buildings will be ready for occupancy by the "end of March, early April," according to project manager Drew Collins with Tilden-Coil Constructors.

The initial master site plan presented to the Indio City Council on Dec. 16, 2020, shows that the roughly $42 million project was supposed to be completed by May 2023 

Project manager Drew Collins says getting the buildings powered is a main reason for delays. 

“We had challenges with those with promises made by several manufacturers, but they basically oversold their commitments,” Collins said.

Before it opens, we went along with city officials for a first look.

Fire personnel will soon work out of a state-of-the-art fire station. There’s garage space to house a ladder truck – and inside a new kitchen and other upgraded spaces. 

The new dispatch center features high ceilings designed to help reduce noise.

It's next to the new two-story public safety services building, where fire and police personnel work out of.  

There’s more storage for police evidence  – and a garage with a lift that will allow investigators to process vehicles on-site after a crash. 

Not included in the safety campus right now is a new police administration building. 

“The existing campus, I believe there is discussions of upgrades that they’re going to be making, but that's a separate project," Collins said.

A plan presented to city council shows the new police admininstation building would go where the old fire station is located. 

City manager Bryan Montgomery tells News Channel 3 the “timeline for a phase 2 is currently being discussed, with preliminary drawings underway and an allocation of approximately $5 million for the pd administration building.”

A longer-term plan for additional funding for what could be called a "Phase 2B" is scheduled to be reviewed as part of the upcoming FY24-25 budget discussions.