Durham County commissioners voted Monday to advance more than $55 million for a new emergency operations center and consolidated backup 911 call center, moving the county’s dispatch and crisis-response infrastructure out of a building constructed in the 1940s. The project includes a $48.9 million capital appropriation for the $55.2 million facility, with as much as $45.4 million earmarked directly for construction and another $3.5 million set aside for furniture, specialized technology, and inspections.
As reported by CBS 17, Durham County Emergency Services currently operates out of a building constructed in the 1940s, and county officials said the existing structure was never intended to support modern critical emergency management functions. Durham County Commissioner Elizabeth Schroeder said the need for a purpose-built facility has long been clear, and that the new project addresses site constraints and funding challenges by maximizing space, enhancing operational efficiency, and building flexibility into the design. Commissioner Nida Allam said the design, land, and other pieces of the project had been in motion for years before Monday’s vote.
A Converted Youth Home Reaches Its Limit
The current Emergency Operations Center at 2422 Broad Street originally opened in the 1940s as the Durham County Youth Home before it was repurposed decades later for emergency management operations, according to Durham County Government records. The new 41,000-square-foot facility will rise on a parcel next to the active Durham County Youth Home detention center, according to a document from the Highland Roofing Company, a proximity that requires heightened site security and construction logistics. The current facility will remain open throughout construction, per CBS 17’s reporting on the county vote, and will be demolished only after the new center is finished, clearing space for parking and other site features.
Planning for the Broad Street replacement had been underway before Monday’s construction vote.
Splitting the Bill Between City and County
Durham County is allocating nearly $26 million to the project, while the City of Durham is responsible for more than $29 million of the total budget, per CBS 17. The two governments are sharing the project’s costs under a joint interlocal agreement…