What would you do with $47 million?
That’s the financial commitment the City of San Pablo has made to build a second police training facility—an investment that comes with decades of debt, rising interest, and future tax burdens that our communities will be left to shoulder.
We asked ourselves: What could we be doing instead—right now, for the next 30 years—with this same money, space, and labor? So we reimagined the facility from top to bottom—not by changing the architecture, but by changing the values behind it.
Shooting Range
Regional police firearm training. Projected to cost $5.53 million for construction alone, this facility will feature 20 lanes and serve multiple law enforcement agencies across the Bay Area.
- Oversized: Even when pooling five departments—we reach a regional sum of only 367 sworn officers. A 20-lane facility remains oversized for requalification needs (1–2 times per year per officer).
- Redundant: Several nearby ranges already support firearms training, making this new range a duplication of resources.
- Expensive: $5.53M and associated long-term maintenance could instead address urgent community needs.
Youth & Family Center
After-school and weekend programming - Leadership and mentorship cohorts - Creative arts and media labs - Civic education and youth organizing - Workforce and college readiness programs
- Meet Demand: The current city-run youth center is only open 2–3 days a week and is too small to meet growing demand.
- Dedicated Youth Space: San Pablo youth experience high rates of poverty, housing instability, and community violence—yet lack daily, safe, empowering spaces.
- Data-informed: Studies show accessible youth centers reduce crime, increase school attendance, and boost mental health outcomes.
- Large-scale: A regional community center could serve thousands more residents annually than a firearms range ever will, offering safety.
Gym, Infrared Saunas, and Sleeping Pods
Reserved for officer-only wellness amenities, including a private gym, infrared saunas, and rest pods meant to reduce stress and improve performance.
- Misaligned Priorities: Exclusive amenities built in a city where 15% of residents are uninsured and lack basic healthcare access.
- Inequitable Access: Police already receive high salaries and gym stipends, unlike low-income or disabled residents.
- Luxury Over Lifeline: Investing in officer comfort while ignoring community health disparities.
Community Wellness Center
Low-cost yoga and fitness classes, community therapy groups, holistic health workshops, and trauma-informed services for violence survivors.
- Address Health Disparities: San Pablo faces high rates of chronic disease, stress, and food insecurity.
- Accessible Wellness Infrastructure: Supports trauma survivors, seniors, and families through sliding-scale services.
- Normalize Healing: Turns exclusionary space into a hub for care and community resilience.
Armory and Ready Room
Designed as secure areas to store weapons and gear and prepare for police deployment.
- Militarized Intent: Reinforces a 'warrior' model of policing instead of restorative community safety.
- Isolation from Community: Spaces are not accessible to the public even in emergencies.
Community Care Cluster
Drop-in childcare, decompression rooms for sensory support, and trauma-informed public space.
- Childcare Access: Fills a major gap for families seeking housing, health, or reentry services.
- Quiet Rooms: Supports neurodivergent individuals, trauma survivors, and elders.
- Privacy and Reset: Provides needed respite in a city with dense housing and limited private space.
Drone Launch Pad and Workspace
Staging and takeoff area for police surveillance drones.
- Surveillance Expansion: Increases police monitoring of public gatherings and disproportionately affects marginalized communities.
- Lack of Oversight: Drones used without sufficient public regulation or consent.
- Wasted Rooftop: Misses the opportunity to create green and healing spaces in a dense city.
Community Green Space
Rooftop garden, outdoor healing space, and sustainability education hub.
- Improve Health and Air Quality: San Pablo has high asthma rates and little green space—gardens can help.
- Ecological Justice: Provides hands-on workshops in gardening, composting, and water capture.
- Cultural and Spiritual Healing: Supports land-based traditions and community restoration.
Virtual Reality Force-Option Simulators
Used to simulate high-stress policing scenarios through immersive technology.
- Ineffective at De-escalation: Focuses on weapons and threat escalation instead of communication or care.
- Bias Amplification: Simulations reinforce racial profiling and danger stereotypes.
- Low Return on Investment: Expensive and unproven to improve real-world outcomes.
Community Tech & Empowerment Lab
Offers coding bootcamps, digital storytelling, tech literacy, and small business support.
- Bridge the Digital Divide: Many San Pablo residents lack devices, internet, or digital fluency.
- Economic Mobility: Provides youth and elders with skills for the tech economy.
- Creative Civic Power: Promotes storytelling and self-determination through digital media.
Classrooms
Designed to serve as classroom space for regional police trainings, workshops, and simulations.
- Redundant Infrastructure: A dedicated training facility already exists. Other local spaces also offer multipurpose rooms.
- Underutilization Risk: Police-only education spaces are likely to remain empty, while other institutions need space.
- Opportunity Cost: Building more police education spaces ignores urgent needs for adult education and reentry programs.
Community Education & Workforce Hub
Offers vocational training, adult education, reentry support, and tenant/housing education.
- Job Training for All: Supports residents facing unemployment and underemployment with accessible programs.
- Consolidated Access: Partnerships with colleges and nonprofits in one place improves access and coordination.
- Education, Not Enforcement: Creates public learning spaces that uplift rather than criminalize our communities.
Secure Entrance with Driveway (Sally Port)
Vehicle-accessible, controlled entry point designed for the transportation of evidence and detainees.
- Low Public Value: Highly specialized use with minimal benefit to the broader community.
- Wasted Potential: Space could provide urgently needed food access in a city with limited distribution options.
Mutual Aid Drive-Up Food Pantry
Weekly food pickups, hygiene kits, mutual aid events, and culturally relevant groceries in a drive-thru model.
- Drive-Up Dignity: Ensures accessibility for elders, disabled people, and workers with tight schedules.
- Expanded Hours: Provides access during early mornings and evenings—times not currently served.
- Address Food Insecurity: 1 in 4 San Pablo households experience hardship. This center fills a life-saving gap.
Drone Surveillance Technology Center
Supports training and deployment of police drones for surveillance and public safety monitoring.
- Misuse of Resources: Drones often deployed for minor infractions, wasting public funds without meaningful safety outcomes.
- Lack of Consent: Community was never consulted about drones monitoring homes, parks, or schools.
- Missed Tech Opportunity: The facility could empower residents instead of training police in surveillance.
Tech Empowerment & Storytelling Lab
Drone certification, coding, podcasting, media creation, and local tech fairs.
- Skill Building: Gives residents tools to enter digital careers without formal credentials.
- Youth Innovation: Centers youth creativity and leadership, not policing.
- Community-Led Tech: Supports self-determination, representation, and safety through access—not surveillance.
K-9 Training Area and Kennels
Houses and trains police dogs for suspect apprehension, search operations, and officer protection.
- Legacy of Racial Violence: K-9 units have historically targeted Black and brown communities.
- Disproportionate Use: K-9 deployments are more common in low-income neighborhoods, causing trauma and injury.
- Financial Burden: Ongoing costs of training, feeding, and caring for police dogs are high.
- Animal Welfare Concern: Training dogs for aggression raises ethical concerns.
Community Animal & Mobility Hub
Pop-up vet services, free pet supplies, and a bike/skate repair and apprenticeship space.
- Veterinary Access: Addresses a major gap in low-cost animal wellness in San Pablo.
- Bike & Skate Access: Builds transit literacy, reduces car dependency, and empowers youth.
- Mutual Aid & Connection: Supports care for both pets and people—promoting sustainability and health.
Jail & Reporting Area
Designed for holding and processing people in police custody. Intended to support criminal legal system operations.
- Punitive Model: Invests in incarceration instead of addressing root causes of harm through care.
Trauma-Informed Mental Health Hub
Walk-in counseling, harm reduction, IPV recovery services, and family therapy.
- Support Survivors: Provides group and individual therapy for those experiencing substance abuse and IPV.
- Centralized Mental Health: San Pablo needs accessible mental health care and coordinated family support services.
Lobby & Admin Areas
Police check-in area and officer-facing administrative offices.
- Exclusionary Design: Spaces currently serve only police functions, inaccessible to the public.
Social Services & Resource Navigation Hub
Housing help, benefits enrollment, DV resources, and legal aid for immigration, housing, and employment.
- One-Stop Access: Reduces barriers by centralizing services currently scattered across agencies.
- Legal Support for All: Supports San Pablo’s ~30% non-citizen population and low-income residents.
SWAT Gear Storage
Storage area for specialized SWAT equipment used in tactical police operations.
- Over-Militarization: San Pablo rarely requires SWAT deployment—gear storage reinforces over-policing.
Emergency Prep & Clothing Closet
Disaster supplies, free hygiene products, job interview clothing, and seasonal apparel.
- Preparedness for All: Helps residents respond to earthquakes, wildfires, and other emergencies.
- Dignified Support: A clothing closet reduces stigma and helps people regain stability.
Cyber Law Enforcement Training Centers
Trains officers in cybercrime investigation and surveillance techniques.
- Redundant Training: Cybercrime is already addressed by regional and federal law enforcement agencies.
- Overinvestment in Surveillance: Focus on data collection over preventative digital literacy and protection.
Digital Literacy & Cyber Safety Hub
Teaches residents cybersecurity, safe internet use, and how to avoid scams and exploitation.
- Empower Residents: Reduces dependency on police by giving people tools to navigate online safely.
Behavioral Health Crisis Response Team Space (A3)
Small office space allocated for county-run A3 mental health crisis response.
- Token Effort: Too small for the scale of need; A3 can operate elsewhere if needed.
Full-Service Crisis Response Center
Expanded mental health care, substance use recovery, and trauma counseling.
- Serve More People: A dedicated center offers deeper support to residents in crisis.
- Separate from Police: Community crisis response works best when not tied to law enforcement.
Criminal Justice Program w/ Contra Costa College
Partnership to train students for careers in law enforcement.
- Redundant Career Track: CCC already offers two police-focused programs; does not diversify career opportunities.
Broad Vocational Training Hub
Offers healthcare, social service, green jobs, tech, and arts training in partnership with CCC.
- Diverse Pathways: Builds economic futures beyond law enforcement.
- Centralized Access: Improves equity in job preparation and training programs.
Office Tech Labs
Originally designed as office space with technical workstations, intended for internal police administrative use.
Tool Library & Equipment Repair Station
Part-time skill-sharing zones with access to tools, DIY repair workshops, and community-led events.
- Sustainable Infrastructure: Encourages reuse, renter independence, and eco-conscious living.
- Skill Sharing: Supports intergenerational learning led by working-class community members.
Unused or Floating Spaces
General-purpose rooms without specific function or frequent use.
Family Resource Center
Parenting workshops, free children’s supplies, and family counseling services.
- Support for Young Families: Centralized care increases family stability and well-being.
Large Lobby and Outdoor Area
Currently underutilized and lacks informal or relaxing spaces for the public.
Community Lounge and Social Hub
Free Wi-Fi, comfortable seating, and open space for gathering, working, or relaxing.
- Community Connection: Supports collaboration, networking, and community-building.
- Bridges Digital Divide: Helps residents without internet or safe workspaces access opportunities.
Kitchen in Staff Area
Private kitchen space reserved for police staff use.
Community Teaching & Communal Kitchen
Cooking classes, cultural recipe sharing, and meal prep events for families and elders.
- Healthy Eating Education: Supports initiatives to combat childhood obesity and food insecurity.
- Shared Nourishment: Fosters healing and connection through communal meals and traditions.
Luxury and Large Office Space
Oversized private offices for police administration with premium amenities.
- Disproportionate Allocation: Lavish space for fewer than 100 police staff while nonprofits and entrepreneurs lack affordable offices.
- Unjustifiable Isolation: Publicly funded but locked away from community use.
Coworking & Creative Innovation Hub
Hot desks, meeting rooms, makerspace, pop-up retail, and rotating art exhibits for local organizations and creatives.
- Support Local Economy: Helps youth, freelancers, and grassroots groups launch projects and build careers.
- Celebrate Community: Transforms sterile offices into spaces of joy, art, and collective pride.
- Inclusive Infrastructure: Makes space for the public instead of prioritizing bureaucratic comfort.