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Dallas County is set to start construction in May on a new emergency operations center with a $40 million all-in price tag, officials said.
The 37,000-square-foot office building will include a warehouse, storm shelter and about 200 parking spaces. Construction is estimated to cost about $26 million, and the project should be completed in about 20 months.
The new EOC will be built on 4.8 acres spanning three tracts at 1010 W Mockingbird Lane, 7101 Envoy Court and 7141 Envoy Court. Kaizen Development Partners will oversee the project.
The new structure will provide the county judge and emergency management team with a centralized location for communication and decision-making during crises and serve as collaboration hub with other emergency management agencies, Assistant County Administrator Jonathon Bazan said in a statement. The county plans to demolish the roughly 67,000-square-foot office building currently at 1010 W Mockingbird Lane and roughly 12,000 square foot of office space at 7101 Envoy Court to make room for the new facility.
The $40 million estimated cost includes the acquisition of the site, construction costs, furniture, fixtures and equipment. Funding for the new structure comes from the American Rescue Plan Act.
Dallas County’s emergency operations center is currently housed in a multi-use facility at 2121 Panoramic Circle.
The county purchased the new site in November 2022 for about $6.4 million.
It wasn't the only site considered by county commissioners. The county previously identified a five-acre site at 8733 Stemmons Fwy. with a roughly $10.8 million price tag, but the seller decided to sign a long-term lease with a current client instead, according to a November 2022 briefing.
Elsewhere, the county is building a new $52 million Health and Human Services facility. The 65,040-square-foot project is anticipated to be completed by August 2025, and will be near a $5 billion pediatric hospital planned by UT Southwestern and Children’s Health.
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