City of Indio starting construction on new Public Safety Campus

Friday marks the groundbreaking ceremony kicking off construction for the City of Indio's new Public Safety Campus.

News Channel 3 spoke to city officials and the architect of the campus about the new developments that will be available to the city.

The current headquarters for the City of Indio have been in use since the late 70s.

Matt Acton with Holt Architecture says, "It (the fire station) was built as partially the city library at the time and fire station."

Not only will the City of Indio's new Public Safety Campus install a new fire station headquarters. It will build a new state of the art dispatch center, and public services building that will house both fire and police personnel.

Indio's Mayor, Waymond Fermon shares some of the new resources, "A state of the art dispatch center, which is the heart of a police and fire communication. So new communication center, new living quarters for our firefighters. We all know how hard our firefighters work, especially in these conditions. That alone is going to enhance quality of life, as in respects to public safety. Our visitors, our residents, and our employees deserve it."

Officials share that the Public Safety Campus will accommodate the growth of Coachella Valley's largest city.

Indio Police Department, Public Information Officer, Benjamin Guitron says, "Everything comes through Indio for the entire valley for those types of services. But we all have our number one priorities, the residents and the businesses in the city of Indio that's important to us, and we reached the point that we need to grow with what's happening in Indio."

Once phase one and two are completed, four new buildings will span over 80,000 feet.

"And then phase two is a brand new police station," says Guitron.

Architect Acton also adds, "There's not a lot of frills or extras that are in this. There's no wasted square footage, you know, everything's in there for a reason.” 

Phase one is expected to be completed by Spring 2024.

Indio officials are welcoming the public to join the groundbreaking ceremony Friday at 8 a.m. off of Dr. Carreon Boulevard and Jackson Street.