CHESTERFIELD — A $50 million state grant will pay for the construction of a new police training facility serving St. Charles, 51ºÚÁÏ, Jefferson and Franklin counties. It is one of two new law enforcement training centers being built in the region.
The grant is a major step forward for a shared training complex first proposed 15 years ago. The idea gained renewed momentum when 51ºÚÁÏ County Executive Sam Page approached colleagues two years ago with a simple message: We need to standardize police officer training.
Now, with $50 million in state funding, the leaders in the four counties said Thursday they are ready to build a training ground for hundreds of new and veteran police officers from across the area.
The other facility, the O’Fallon-St. Charles Regional Center for Advanced Skills Training in Law Enforcement, is set to officially open its first phase next month. Lt. Daniel Gibbons, a spokesperson for the St. Charles Police Department, said the two training facilities are not intended to compete against each other.
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Early plans for the four-county facility — which officials are calling the Gateway Regional Law Enforcement Training Center — include replicas of an urban street and the interior of a home so that officers can experience real-world scenarios. It is also expected to include virtual reality simulator rooms, traditional classrooms, a firing range and a driving course.
“We are 25 years into the 21st century and we still don’t have a 21st century law enforcement training center in this region,†said St. Charles County Police Chief Kurt Frisz on Thursday. “This facility ... looks to the future of law enforcement training, to better train our officers, those current officers and our future officers.â€
51ºÚÁÏ is not involved in the project. Officials said Thursday that they plan to meet next week with newly elected 51ºÚÁÏ Mayor Cara Spencer in hopes she will join the coalition.
Franklin County Presiding Commissioner Dave Schatz said he hopes Spencer hears them out.
“We want 51ºÚÁÏ city to succeed. We want the new mayor to succeed, and it is in our best interest as a region if they do,†he said.
Now that the state funding for the training center has been secured, officials will now turn to finding a location to build it, said St. Charles County Executive Steve Ehlmann.
Page previously said he would like to see it built on vacant land near 51ºÚÁÏ Lambert International Airport. Ehlmann said he would like to see the complex built in St. Charles County.
“We’re going to do the best thing, which is everybody compromising to get something that the whole region can support,†Ehlmann said. “That’s going to be the challenge, but after all, if regionalism was easy, then everybody would be doing it.â€
The St. Charles County Police Department is not involved in building the O’Fallon-St. Charles Regional Center for Advanced Skills Training in Law Enforcement, or “CASTLE,†but its officers have used it.
That multimillion-dollar facility is being built in phases on 80-acres along Highway 79, north of O’Fallon. The first phase was a $4.5 million firing range, that includes 20 shooting lanes that vary in distance up to 200 yards.
O’Fallon and St. Charles are committed to paying a combined $16 million to build the second phase of their facility.
The second phase of the project will include a 22,500-square-foot classroom training center, a 2,100-square-foot outdoor pavilion, a SWAT training facility, a simulations shooting training location, a K9 training course, kennels, a vehicle driving course, a drone pilot training course, and a stormwater retention pond that would double as a water rescue training pond.
O’Fallon and St. Charles officials are hoping to convince state leaders to provide $8 million to complete the project.
“We need both facilities — that is how great the need is for training facilities are in this region,†Gibbons said. He said only two or three facilities in the state offer an emergency vehicle operations course, which trains drivers to drive at high speed on curves, in wet conditions and through busy intersections.
“There is nothing scarier for a new policeman on their first emergency response call than approaching a busy intersection,†he said. “This will provide them with that real-world experience they need.â€
He said the additional firing range is needed because existing ranges don’t have enough spaces available, prompting some departments to reduce the time officers must put in to practice.
Both facilities — the one in northern O’Fallon and the one backed county officials — will be open to police departments to use, for a fee. Mark Mossotti said it is unclear how many departments will use either one.
“I can tell you that the vast majority of the ones I’ve talked to are all in support of a state-of-the-art training facility,†said Mark Mossotti, chairman of the 51ºÚÁÏ Area Police Chiefs Association chairman and the Bridgeton police chief. “This is a huge deal for law enforcement in this region.â€
Post-Dispatch photographers capture hundreds of images each week; here's a glimpse at the week of March 30, 2025. Video edited by Jenna Jones.
