Gilbert’s $85 million police and firefighter training facility is now open after two years of construction, the city recently announced.

The Gilbert Public Safety Training Facility, a 50-acre compound located at Power and Pecos roads, features separate spaces for the departments that include tactical, prop and classroom structures, indoor shooting ranges and a driver training track.

“We are proud of this state-of-the-art facility where our police and fire personnel can train together and prepare for anything that may come our way,” Gilbert Fire Chief Jim Jobusch said in a press release.

Gilbert Fire is expected to welcome its first academy class at the facility in late March.

Gilbert Police will bring its first academy class in the fall, according to the release.

Prior to the facility, the departments were forced to rely on facilities in other communities for crucial hands-on training and simulations and to send recruits through their academies.

In November 2018, voters approved a $65.3 million bond to finance the bulk of the cost. The town’s general operating funds covered the rest.

“We are thankful to our partners, the project team and Gilbert residents for their part in making this project come to life,” Gilbert Police Chief Michael Soelberg said in the release.

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