South Fulton to build new police headquarters, fire training center and parks

Changes coming to South Fulton after the passing of a $100+ investment plan

The City of South Fulton City Council approved a multi-million capital-investment plan at Tuesday night's meeting. The plans fund a new police and fire headquarters, a new training center for firefighters and hundreds of acres of new park space.

SOUTH FULTON, Ga. - The City of South Fulton City Council approved a $100+ million capital-investment plan on Tuesday night.

South Fulton capital-investment 

What we know:

The plan funds building a new police headquarters, a new training center for firefighters and hundreds of acres of park space.

The city says the plan will include a 911 call center, classrooms and a firing range for police, along with a burn building to train firefighters.

The money will come from the city’s general fund. Mayor Khalid says the city will not raise taxes to pay for the plan.

South Fulton leaders respond

What they're saying:

South Fulton is only eight years old. Mayor Khalid Kamau, who goes by mayor Khalid, says right now South Fulton rents office space from Atlanta for the police headquarters. The city trains its firefighters in neighboring counties.

"Every city needs a fire and police headquarters," Mayor Khalid said. "We bought nearly 400 acres of land, and we’re now beginning to build permanent homes for our fire, our police, for our courts, for our city hall."

Mayor Pro Tempore Linda Pritchett says the new facilities will help the city attract new officers.

"It’s the best use, and it’s a practical plan," the mayor pro tem said. "It will provide the right atmosphere for us to hire more personnel, give them better training, state-of-the-art facilities that we will own."

The City of South Fulton released a list of frequently asked questions about the police and fire headquarters project following the vote. 

South Fulton Residents on investment

What they're saying:

"This is a beginning," said resident Yvonne Boone. "Of course, police deserve that. We do need more fire stations, and we need people to be trained for them."

"Definitely a good idea," said Boone, who added she’d like more for the park.  "We need a bigger park."

Drew Deman, another resident, is excited about the planned fire facility. "Fire and rescue is really important. I want to see more in terms of public safety, which to me is more like fire and rescue and EMS service and things like that," Deman said.

Deman is also excited about new park space. "I think it’s a great idea, we need as much green space as we could possibly have," Deman said.

He’s less sanguine about the police headquarters. "We spend way too much money on police. My general impression of big, expensive police projects is, mmm, I don’t know," Deman said.

When will South Fulton's investment project start?

What's next:

The city hopes to break ground this year and complete the projects some time in 2027.