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For 37 years, Rancho Santiago Community College District and the Orange County Sheriff’s Department (OCSD) have maintained a partnership that creates and delivers cutting-edge training to local law enforcement recruits. Their jointly-operated academy provides training for recruits from numerous Southern California agencies, as well as for recruits headed for the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. Over time, the old facility used for this purpose became inadequate to meet modern-day demands.

Using land conveyed by the City of Tustin, Rancho Santiago Community College District has remedied the problem, building this state-of-the-art Training Academy on 15 acres of the former Marine Corps Air Station. Developed by a project team including the architect and Santa Ana college stakeholders, the new Academy provides much-needed instructional space, and guarantees state-of-the-art training will remain available to recruits who will serve throughout the southland.

Designed by the architectural firm GKK Works, with Bernards serving as construction contractor, and C.W. Driver performing construction management, the 52,000-square- foot facility has been eagerly awaited by staff and recruits alike.

The diversity of training environments needed for law enforcement recruits is evident. The Academy features four lecture classrooms. Each is fully outfitted with media equipment to enhance instruction, and provides instructional space for up to 92 recruits in the large classrooms. The Academy’s outdoor space substantially extends the instructional area, including an obstacle course, running path, and open areas used for training drills and recruit inspections - all without encroaching on the area needed for building maintenance.

Inside the building, a main hallway joins the gymnasium, weight training room, and locker rooms that support physical development with the classrooms that support academic preparation. Santa Ana College and OCSD staff who conduct instruction, the reserve officer training program, the video production unit, and the Academy’s daily business operations are housed in 38 quick-to-access offices. A large multipurpose room with movable wall partitions maximizes flexibility for the Academy’s diverse operational needs. The room can be quickly transformed to handle activities such as individual weight training, student and staff dining, and large-scale physical training before being converted for an evening’s graduation activities seating up to 1,500 occupants.

On the exterior, the new building reflects an awareness of the site’s history, blending well with the adjacent historic blimp hangars. Old curved arches resembling the form of the two blimp hangars were utilized at the lobby entry, and over the gymnasium / multipurpose space.

A memorial dedicated to Orange County’s fallen peace officers of all agencies will soon be built, and will become the site of the county’s annual Peace Officer Memorial Ceremony and Candlelight Vigil. Bearing too many memorial plaques, and bordered by a meditative walkway, the peaceful passage silently embodies OCSD’s core values of honor and history, while presenting a clear reminder of the very real need for the training provided here.

While the Academy’s simple but modern palette of materials evokes memories of the past, it also generates a bold statement for this new training facility. Traditional glass, steel, aluminum, and masonry block have all been restructured to achieve a striking new look, and a new commitment to California’s environment. The building envelope (designed with SCE Savings by Design guidelines) was designed to exceed California Energy Code requirements. A few examples:

The Orange County Sheriff’s Regional Training Academy was constructed using Measure E funds at a cost of $30.2 million Measure E, approved by voters in November 2002, provided Rancho Santiago Community College District $337 million for renovation and new construction at both Santa Ana and Santiago Canyon Colleges. The Academy’s audio-visual equipment was installed at cost of $534,000, primarily funded through a special Homeland Security grant obtained by OCSD, for the purpose of improving their law enforcement training.