A future training facility for the Overland Park Police Department is within reach.

On Wednesday, the Overland Park City Council’s Public Safety Committee recommended, by a 6-0 vote, approval of an agreement with Kansas City-based architectural firm Hoefer Welker, LLC, for design and engineering services.

This action initiates the early stages of the project, which include identifying the requirements the facility must meet and evaluating potential sustainability options.

The city also wants to provide a more accurate cost estimate for the project. The capital plan currently estimates $20 million for the project, but Tony Rome, the city’s building engineer, says it could be even more expensive.

The future facility is expected to be located on the campus of the W. Jack Sanders Justice Center at 12400 Foster St.

Training facility to follow 2022 upgrades

• Rome said Wednesday that the new training facility is essentially the second phase of an expansion project that will be completed in 2022.
• As part of modernization efforts two years ago, called for in a 2019 Sanders Campus study, a new building was added to the vehicle parking facility.
• They also saw renovations at the Sanders Campus and the Myron Scafe building near Antioch Road and Santa Fe Drive near City Hall.
• In total, the 2019 study identified six phases of work to modernize the entire Sanders campus, including the municipal court area.
• “This is just another domino in the process,” Rome said. “It’s a pretty big domino, but it has to be done.”

New facility will have shooting range and weapons storage

• The 2019 study also found that the police department would need additional space to accommodate, for example, a new 45-meter-long shooting range and classrooms.
• In addition, a training facility could house special fitness training rooms, an armory, and other things.
• Currently, officers in Overland Park are completing their fitness training in a makeshift room that is actually intended to serve as a garage.
• Other training, such as shooting practice, must be completed elsewhere, either in facilities of other regional departments or at private companies.
• As part of the agreement with Hoefer Welker, the results of the 2019 study will be re-examined to ensure those findings still meet police needs today, Rome said.

Next Steps:

• The agreement with Hoefer Welker will next be presented to the Overland Park City Council for review.
• The company will then spend the next few months working on the project, ultimately resulting in a more concrete concept plan for the project and a basic site layout.
• According to city documents, Overland Park plans to build the training facility in 2026.

Review: New $20 million police training facility in Overland Park back in discussion