The Dallas Police Department's planned training academy at the University of North Texas at Dallas is ready for its biggest contract yet. City staff will brief the City Council's Public Safety Committee on Tuesday, Oct. 13, ahead of a full council vote on Oct. 28 on a construction package that would raise the builder's contract to $185 million.
The project, known as the Law Enforcement Training Center, is going up at 1200 E. Camp Wisdom Road. Crews from Swinerton Builders, the construction manager at risk, began clearing the site on Sept. 14, eleven days after a ceremonial groundbreaking, and the city's monthly update puts that first phase of site work at 5% complete.
The buildings package
The Oct. 28 item, Supplemental Agreement No. 2, covers what the city calls the second guaranteed maximum price package: six buildings. They are a basic academy, an in-service academy, a reality-based training building for each of those programs, a physical training pavilion and a criminal justice center.
According to a memo from Assistant City Manager Dev Rastogi, the package includes up to $140,236,181 for construction, a figure that contains about $4.2 million in contractor contingency, plus an owner's contingency of up to $15,581,797. Together that is $155,817,978, lifting Swinerton's contract from $29,182,022 to $185 million.
Building construction is expected to start in the first quarter of 2027, with completion penciled in for July 2028.
The city's update says the notice to proceed and the contract award will be limited to the money on hand, with more resolutions to follow as funding arrives. A building permit is expected by Nov. 13.
Where the money stands
The update counts $107 million committed or received so far:
- $50 million from the 2024 city bond program
- $25 million in state grants, $10 million approved in 2023 and $15 million in 2025
- $10 million from QuikTrip, already received
- a $10 million multiyear grant from the W.W. Caruth Foundation Fund at Communities Foundation of Texas, of which $7.5 million has arrived
- $12 million in other private pledges
Private donations total $32 million toward a $70 million goal, and the city expects to raise the remaining $38 million on schedule. The fundraising is led by Tennell Atkins, Lynn McBee and Jennifer Gates.
On Oct. 28 the council is also set to accept $17.5 million in donations held for the project at Communities Foundation of Texas, along with two grants from the governor's Criminal Justice Division of $10 million and $5 million.
