Dallas City Council approved a lease agreement for 20 acres of land to build a police academy Wednesday without discussion, angering some residents who spoke out during public comment.
Although it was on last week's city council briefing agenda, there was no public presentation on the project, and the council approved the lease Wednesday as part of the meeting's consent agenda 鈥� which is generally used to quickly approve items lumped together in one vote.
Dallas resident Nora Soto was one of several people who signed up to speak during Wednesday's public comment regarding the police academy. She said she was disgusted with how the lease agreement had been handled and demanded a vote postponement until there was a public briefing.
"This issue is too critical and these funds too important for this process to be rushed," Soto said.
The Dallas Police Department wants to construct a training academy and public safety complex 鈥� which is estimated to total $275 million 鈥� using bond money approved last year. But residents have spoken out against those plans, voicing concerns that it will cost more than what voters approved and expressing disapproval for the lack of a public briefing.
Voters approved . The bond designated $50 million for the construction of a police training academy.
Plans for a police training academy have been in the works since 2021 and, at the time, was estimated to cost $140 million. The city entered into a non-binding agreement with UNT Dallas to put the training facility on a 20-acre site on campus.
Despite uncertainty over the project earlier this year, the training academy is still planned for the 20 acres on the UNT Dallas campus.
The academy will offer peace officer courses, various trainings, health and fitness areas, and a ceremonial and community space. Groundbreaking is estimated for early fall 2026.
Texas Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas, thanked the council Wednesday for including the lease agreement on its consent agenda. He said it sent a message to the city, state, and law enforcement that Dallas wanted to guarantee its officers have the best facility possible.
"I firmly believe that placing this facility at the University of North Texas at Dallas will continue to give that university extra momentum in terms of criminal justice program," he said.
West was "instrumental" in getting funding for the police training academy, Council Member Cara Mendelsohn said.
"We really, truly appreciate you," Mendelsohn said. "Others in the state helped as well, but you're sitting here and it means a lot."
Dallas PD is also expected to use at least 60 acres of city-owned land for its public safety complex. The location of the complex had not been finalized as of Wednesday.
The public safety complex will have classrooms for Dallas police and fire personnel, a simulated tactical village, vehicle training, and potential training elements for Dallas Fire Rescue. A feasibility study on the complex will be initiated this year.
The police training academy is estimated to cost $185 million and the public safety complex is estimated to cost $90 million, making the overall project $275 million.
So far there is $96.5 million in funding committed for the project. That includes the $50 million from the May 2024 bond, along with state grants, money from the , and private fundraising commitments.
During last week's council briefing, Soto said that there was a lack of transparency, a disregard for public opinion, and a misappropriation of public funds over the project's rollout. She added that there was not enough money raised for the project and called the money from the bond program "stolen."
"Even with all these glaring issues, we as residents are expected to fork over what could turn into hundreds of millions of tax dollars into this project," she said.
Lindsay Linderman, a Dallas resident and UNT Dallas law student, said during the council briefing that she was concerned about the construction of the police academy on the campus.
Linderman spoke in favor of community resources 鈥� like education, housing and food security 鈥� to prevent crime and promote public safety, not more tactical training.
"I wonder why Proposition F, which allocated millions of taxpayer dollars to this facility, was labeled as 'public safety facilities'," Linderman said. "I believe that Prop F was intentionally confusing, misleading, and vague by lumping together this academy with necessary repairs to fire stations in our area."
Despite pushback during the briefing and during the council meeting, the lease agreement was approved unanimously Wednesday.
Mayor Eric Johnson also thanked Sen. West and said the training academy would be important to the city's public safety goals.
He added that the city's current police training facility has been a weakness in recruiting efforts.
"This council has been working so hard to make sure that we deliver on this public safety issue, and this police training facility is going to be an integral part of that for years and years and years to come," Johnson said.
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