The Lee Board of Commissioners on Tuesday formally accepted grant funds of $13.7 million from the Florida Department of Emergency Management for the planned expansion of the Emergency Operations Center into a Public Safety Building at the location on Ortiz Avenue in Fort Myers.
The FDEM grant dollars were appropriated by the Florida Legislature during the 2022 Legislative Session to assist with the planned expansion.
Lee County plans to begin the project next year to expand critical facilities to the existing Public Safety campus where the EOC is currently located.
The expansion project, planned for more than a year, will emphasize flexibility and adaptability to accommodate evolving emergency management demands and address capacity needs as Lee County approaches 1 million residents.
Construction is expected to begin in mid-2023 and is scheduled to be complete about 18 months later.
The project will include an expanded Emergency Communications Center, training facilities, administrative space, and support facilities such as restrooms and showers for the existing Emergency Operations Center building.
Training and operational space in the expansion will double to support billeting for personnel and additional workspace for staff in the facility during an activation for an event such as a hurricane. The square footage will more than double to 66,000. Onsite parking also will be expanded, and the secured entrance from Ortiz Avenue will be improved.
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