Nearly three years after breaking ground, the Pennsylvania State Police and the Department of General Services unveiled an outdoor tactical training area, marking the latest milestone in the construction of the law enforcement agency’s new state-of-the-art academy.

The project will modernize the 68-year-old campus, continuing Gov. Josh Shapiro’s work to build safer communities by ensuring troopers are well-trained to protect Pennsylvanians.

“It is inspiring to see our vision of a state-of-the-art academy coming to life that will provide our cadets now and for generations to come with cutting-edge resources and world-class training that best prepares them for policing in the 21st century,” said Lt. Col. George L. Bivens, acting commissioner of the state police.

“This project is a long-term investment to help the brave women and men who choose to wear the uniform to protect Pennsylvanians while keeping themselves safe,” he said.

The new tactical training area, a Callout Village, consists of replica homes, a business and a place of worship. Each structure will provide cadets and other law enforcement personnel with realistic environments to train for real-life situations that they are likely to face in the field.

From neighbor disputes to active shooter situations, the Callout Village will allow cadets to gain hands-on experience responding to emergencies, learn from their mistakes, and develop best practices for handling highly stressful, dangerous and intense situations well before they graduate and become state troopers.

State police also highlighted the completion of a new 25,000-square-foot procurement and supply warehouse, which is set to open in the coming weeks.

The facility will relocate operations from the previously leased warehouse in Harrisburg to the academy, providing state police with a more centralized location for accessing critical resources.

“Working alongside the Pennsylvania State Police, DGS is helping deliver a world-class academy that will support generations of troopers with the facilities, technology and training environments they need to protect Pennsylvanians,” said DGS Acting Secretary Sandra Aguilera. “We’re proud of this partnership and the lasting impact it will have on communities across the commonwealth.”

State police broke ground on the 143-acre academy project in December 2023. Since then, progress has been made in building:

• Bureau of Emergency and Special Operations headquarters, which is scheduled to open in the next few months.

• Grounds and maintenance facility, which is scheduled to open early in 2027.

• Five-story, 300,000-square-foot Marquee Building, which is scheduled to open sometime next spring.

The Marquee Building, overlooking Hershey Park Drive, will house modern classrooms and administrative offices, 300 individual cadet dorm rooms, a 500-seat auditorium, an indoor tactical training village and a spacious cafeteria.

When the Marquee Building is complete, the second phase of the new academy project will begin, which includes demolishing the current academy building to make way for new training facilities. One building will feature a 25-lane indoor shooting range.

The Pennsylvania State Police Academy, which has trained cadets since 1960, has remained operational throughout construction, although several structures were demolished as part of site preparation. The entire project is expected to be completed in 2028.

Photos and video from today’s event will be available at PAcast.com.

For more information on the state police, visit psp.pa.gov.