A big, new building is going up right off Highway 101 in SLO County. What is it?
Travelers driving on Highway 101 through Templeton can’t miss a large, new building under construction at the North Main Street off-ramp.
Wondering what it is?
The building is a dispatch center for Cal Fire and the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office, with construction expected to be completed next year.
The county broke ground at the site on Oct. 9, 2023, according to a county news release at the time, but construction officially began until Aug. 3, 2023.
The building is expected to open in August 2025.
Cal Fire and the Sheriff’s Office currently have separate dispatch centers, and both facilities do not meet basic standards for housing 10-hour duty shifts nor do they comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, the county said.
Combining both Cal Fire and the Sheriff’s Office into one dispatch center will help coordinate 911 and emergency response faster, manage emergency personnel during natural disasters more efficiently, save costs and increase capacity for dispatching staff as service levels grow, the county said.
The facility will be a 24-hour operation and feature “a high level of technical integration and communications technology,” the county said on its website. It’s a joint coordinated effort between the San Luis Obispo County Public Works, the Sheriff’s Office, Cal Fire, SLO County IT and Communications and the Office of Emergency Services and Administration.
Upcoming work includes structural steel delivery and erection, generator foundation and a metal pan deck on the second floor, the county website said.
Diani Building Corp. designed and is building the dispatch center.
To view live updates of construction progress, visit app.truelook.cloud/dashboard/15976/18118/live?code=3nnx87yh135cpv0fagmja437y.
This story was originally published September 18, 2024 at 5:00 AM.
