LIVINGSTON — A $30 million facility that will house Livingston Parish's Emergency Operations Center and act as a disaster relief staging area for the I-12 corridor is expected to start construction later this year, a spokesperson for Parish President Randy Delatte said. 

The facility, Delatte's office adds, is being built specifically to give first responders, utility crews, National Guard teams and displaced residents a single coordinated location during emergencies. The lack of such a facility became apparent during the 2016 flood and multiple hurricanes that have since affected the parish, the parish government said.

The 50-acre facility will be located south of I-12 near Livingston.

In addition to acting as an emergency response hub, the facility is also planned to seat 5,000 people, which Delatte's office says is large enough for graduations of local schools and other large events. There will also be enough space for 1,000 emergency cots, as well as staging areas for rescue trucks, utility vehicles and livestock rescue during storms.

Funding for the proposed project came from multiple sources, including $2.8 million in P1 Capital Outlay funds, $3 million from Sen. Bill Cassidy, $2.6 million from Rep. Julia Letlow and $10 million from a Hazard Mitigation Grant Program safe room grant. 

So far, the project has secured $18.4 million without raising taxes, Delatte added.

The project is expected to be finished by 2028 or early 2029.

In 2023, WBRZ reported on a $45 million facility that would be used as an emergency response staging ground. A Delatte spokesperson said that Sheriff Jason Ard was not able to get funding for the project, adding that he turned it over to the parish to continue work on it.