KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Knoxville leaders and community members gathered on Wednesday at the new Public Safety Complex building to mark an end to the three-year-long construction project.
Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon, Knoxville Police Chief Paul Noel, and Fire Chief Stan Sharp were there with the Knoxville Fire Department Honor Guard and the Fulton High School Band. The Public Safety Complex was designed to bring together different first responder agencies and public entities under one building.
It houses KPD, the Knoxville Fire Department, the E911 backup system, pension system offices and the city court. Inside the complex, there is also a "real-time crime center," connecting a network of surveillance cameras in the downtown area to provide live feeds for law enforcement to watch.
The complex also houses a Lincoln Memorial University department, offering space for hundreds of nursing and dental students. Knox County and the McNabb Center are also partnering to create an urgent care and behavioral health facility on the campus.
KPD moved into the Public Safety Complex in June, and KFD administrative staff started moving into the complex in January.
It was built out of the old St. Mary's Hospital office buildings, between St. Mary Street and Huron Street in North Knoxville. That cluster of old buildings was repurposed to safely provide workspace for public workers while also preserving some parts of the old buildings. The 1929 Building was preserved and safeguarded, Knoxville leaders said.
The initial plans for the project date back to 2018, when then-Mayor Madeline Rogero announced it in her State of the City budget address. The Public Safety Complex cost around $70 million to build, more than the initial budget called for.
City leaders said in October 2021, the price increased by around $20 million due to "pandemic construction shortages." The price rose by another $5 million in August 2022 to help with facade issues.
Some construction will continue after the ribbon-cutting, city leaders said.