Fresno emergency dispatchers will finally have a building of their own.

The city broke ground Tuesday on a new 911 call center in the parking lot of the city municipal yard at El Dorado and G streets. Mayor Jerry Dyer called it “long overdue.” Dispatchers have operated from the basement of headquarters — a 66-year-old building with no windows, asbestos problems, and air conditioning issues.

“Our dispatchers are deserving — deserving of this facility and more,” said Dyer, who was the city’s police chief before becoming mayor.

“More” includes windows. The 12,000-square-foot facility will also feature space for 48 phone operators and 12 radio dispatchers — doubling its current space allotment — along with modern locker and break rooms, and enhanced parking lot security.

“The current 911 center is also far too small and outdated for a professional police department like Fresno PD. This new facility will change all of that,” Dyer said.

Police Chief Mindy Casto said dispatchers answer 1,000 emergency calls a day and more than 1.1 million total calls a year.

“Our dispatchers have sacrificed by working countless weekends, nights, and holidays helping to keep people who live and work in our city safe. And now today we get to celebrate a new beginning for them with the groundbreaking,” Casto said.

Open Next Year

Wielding a jackhammer, Dyer broke ground as part of the ceremonial groundbreaking. The dispatch center is scheduled to open in fall 2026.

The city will spend nearly $19 million to build the center, with $2 million coming from state grants and the remainder from city bond revenues.

Dyer also said labor negotiations are going smoothly with dispatchers.

“Folks like dispatchers, police officers and firefighters, we can never pay them enough,” Dyer said.