St. Johns County celebrates design of 20,000-square-foot shared fire station and sheriff operations center

St. Johns County officials on Thursday celebrated the design and construction of a 20,000-square-foot shared fire station and sheriff operations center intended to serve the central region of the county and speed emergency response.

County leaders said the facility is the second built under the county commission’s public safety expansion plan and framed the project as both a cost-saving partnership and an improved operational hub for firefighters and law enforcement. “This station is the second facility to be constructed as part of the county commission’s public safety expansion plan,” a presenter said, thanking the board for continued support and investment in public safety in St. Johns County.

An agency official highlighted the practical benefits of colocating services, saying, “I think the most important part is that we get to share a building with St. Johns County Fire and Rescue. It actually saves taxpayer dollars. It gives us space. We have people that are there 24 hours a day so they can watch our equipment, our office space. So again, the partnership relationship is key to success in St. Johns County.” The official and other speakers did not provide a dollar estimate for the claimed savings.

Sheriff Rob Hardwick, who said he became sheriff five years ago, said the center will make operations more efficient and that detectives will be relocated to the new facility to improve response times and coordination. “Five years ago when I took over as your sheriff ... this will be here one day,” Hardwick said, adding that Director Skip Cole will move some detectives to the center to make response easier.

Another county official pointed to local leadership and interagency cooperation, saying the project reflects “leadership of Joy Andrews” and closer work among the sheriff’s office and fire leadership, including Chief Shawn McGee. The official noted that such shared facilities are not yet common across Florida and emphasized the benefit to residents.

Speakers also framed the project as a response to rapid growth in the county and an effort to reduce burdens on existing crews. “This is going to fill a big gap in service area for us. It’s going to relieve existing crews from having to come in here. So, it’ll reduce call burden on them,” a committee member said, calling expansion of public safety a board priority.

A representative from public works described the center as a quality-of-life improvement that will help ensure the county can “respond quickly, effectively, and safely when our community calls for help.”

The officials’ remarks described planned benefits—shared staffing and space, relocated detectives, shorter response times and taxpayer savings—without specifying implementation timelines, construction costs, or the amount of projected savings. The ceremony did not include any formal votes or binding actions; speakers described the project as part of an ongoing county initiative.

What happens next: officials said detectives would be moved to the facility and that the project represents an ongoing expansion under the county’s public safety plan; specific dates for occupancy, costs, and funding sources were not specified.