New FBI-police training center opens
Hurricane Harvey’s floods devastated the old facility in Conroe
CONROE — The Firearms Training Facility, heavily damaged during Hurricane Harvey, has finally been replaced with a new, four-story building in Conroe.
The facility, shared by the Conroe Police Department and the FBI, was funded with $6.1 million allocated for classroom repairs and flood control by the Conroe City Council in August 2019 and $2 million from the FBI.
“It was a long three-and-a-half years waiting on it,” said police Sgt. Jeff Bradford, adding the newly completed building was “the silver lining in the cloud” the storm brought.
Floodwater from Harvey in August 2017 breached a protective berm and devastated the training grounds, which had several buildings. All of the buildings had at least 6 feet of water after the storm. The damage meant a lot of Conroe PD’s training had to be done at the station on Plantation Drive, while activities by other agencies were suspended.
The new center promises to restore Conroe as a destination for local, state and federal law enforcement officers seeking to sharpen their skills, officials said.
Opened in 1994, the training center has multiple firing ranges as well as an outdoor running track, a climbing tower and a gymnasium.
Law enforcement officers on site numbered as many as 15,000 annually, according to facility statistics from 2015. That included officers from Conroe PD, the FBI, the Houston Police Department and other state and federal agencies, including the Texas Department
of Public Safety.
The new building consists of three occupied floors and four stories — the first is elevated to curtail future flooding. It replaces three single-story structures, and can fit three times as many officers fulfilling in-class training. The classrooms provide space for nearly 80.
“We’ve never had that before,” said Bradford, who has been with the department for 26 years and trained at the original site.
A new berm was also installed, he said.
On Tuesday afternoon, loud gunfire could be heard from a distance at the building’s entrance and Montgomery County Sheriff ’s Office cadets bustled out of a side door for outdoor instruction.
Conroe Police Academy cadets have also returned to the site.
Houston-based architectural design firm PGAL headed up the project. And the Christensen Building Group, whose owner Bradford noted is a Conroe resident, oversaw the construction efforts.
Construction began in December 2019 and ended in March.
The building’s interior is accented with silver, gray, black, and this being a facility for cops, a robust blue.
“I wanted kind of an industrial look,” Bradford said as he showed off the building’s sleek break room.
A new addition to the grounds is a gate, because some people thought the facility was open to the public. The department does welcome residents to its next Citizens Police Academy, which starts May 25.
At the base of the building is a commemorative statue of police Sgt. Ed Holcomb by a Colorado sculptor. Killed by gunfire while answering a domestic disturbance call in September 1982, Holcomb is the department’s sole on-duty slaying.
As the improved facility honors the department’s past, it prepares to serve its future. “It’s a huge asset for the Houston area,” Bradford said.