Tennessee Moves Forward on $415M Law Enforcement Training Campus

By CN Staff

NASHVILLE, Tenn.—The State of Tennessee has broken ground on a Multi-Agency Law Enforcement Training Academy (MALETA) campus in Nashville. Tennessee Governor Bill Lee attended the recent groundbreaking alongside state lawmakers and law enforcement officials.

MALETA is a consolidated law enforcement campus that will include state-of-the-art training facilities, a housing and dining building, and a new administrative headquarters building for the Tennessee Department of Correction and the Department of Safety and Homeland Security. The facilities will also be used by various government agencies, including the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance, Tennessee Law Enforcement Training Academy, Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission, and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, for training local law enforcement, members of the Tennessee Highway Patrol, and corrections officers.

Turner Construction Company will manage the construction of the MALETA Training Academy Facility. The building will include simulation spaces, a moot courtroom, mock detention pods, a multipurpose gym with physical and weight training spaces, more than 20 classrooms and other instructional areas, and administrative rooms. Additionally, an outdoor activities space with an obstacle course will be included.

Having shared facilities for different departments at one campus will significantly improve the training of law enforcement staff, promote interagency cooperation and information sharing, and lead to cost-saving measures. The campus can accommodate 400 cadets and 200 in-service personnel, who will be housed there.

“Turner is excited to build such a vital resource for training Tennessee’s law enforcement officials,” said Paul Lawson, Vice President and General Manager, Turner Construction Company. “The MALETA complex will boost law enforcement’s capability to safeguard our communities, ensuring the safety and quality of life for all Tennesseans.”

Construction of the MALETA Training Academy Facility is scheduled to commence in the summer of 2024.