COLLEGE STATION, Texas — The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents voted to begin construction on a $370 million State Emergency Operations Center and agency headquarters for the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) on Thursday.
The new headquarters will be located just east of the Austin Bergstrom International Airport, and will allow TDEM to bring its staff together to coordinate statewide emergency response efforts from a single location.
In the $370 million that is being put towards this project, $9.7 million is being allocated towards land acquisition, while just over $360 million will go towards the nearly 300,000 square foot facility. That facility will include a five-story office building and the State Emergency Operations Center.
The current State Operations Center in Austin was constructed in an underground bunker in the 1950's. Construction on the project is set to begin later this month, with "substantial completion" expected around August 2026.
"With this investment by the Legislature and the support of the Governor and Board of Regents, Texas will increase its capabilities to better prepare for, respond to, recover from and mitigate against any disaster we face," said Texas Emergency Management Chief Nim Kidd in a news release. " Communication and coordinate are cornerstones of emergency management, and our new facilities will provide TDEM and our emergency management partners with the space and technology to more effectively serve our communities across Texas."
The new building--which is projected to be a little over 90,000 square feet--will be designed to withstand 200 mph windstorms, and will be a combination of traditional steel-framed construction and mass timber.
Click here to read the full news release on the Texas A&M University System website.
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