Photo Courtesy of KAI
The Dallas County Emergency Operations Center, a 39,000-sq-ft, $26.2-million facility, was built to serve as the region’s permanent hub for multiagency coordination during large-scale events and emergencies.
By mid‑July, the FIFA World Cup will be rolling out of North Texas. What remains is the building that helped hold the operation together: Dallas County’s new emergency operations center, where nearly 200 federal, state and local personnel are coordinating public safety for one of the largest events the region has ever hosted.
The $26.2-million, 39,000-sq-ft facility in Dallas is the county’s permanent EOC, built by general contractor Azteca-Omega Group, with developer Kaizen Development Partners and dedicated June 10 after an 18-month build. KAI provided architecture, interior design, MEP and fire protection engineering, and CBRE and McKissack & McKissack served as owner’s representatives. The tournament, which runs into mid-July with matches at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, is only the building’s first assignment.
It replaces a stopgap operation retrofitted inside a manufacturing and distribution warehouse—a setup that offered backup power but little of the resilience the county wanted for a hub coordinating emergency management across 31 cities and 2.6 million residents, says Derwin Broughton, vice president and senior principal at KAI, who served as project executive and architect.
KAI designed the structure to ICC 500-2020 storm-shelter standards, rated to withstand wind and wind-borne debris loads of 250 mph. Redundant data, telecommunications, mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems back up every critical function and the building is engineered to run independently for at least five days.
“This facility was designed as the nerve center for Dallas County emergency operations, bringing decision-makers together in a purpose-built environment that supports clarity, speed and decisive action during critical events,” Broughton says.
A key design challenge shaped the site: the county required outdoor chillers, but air-cooled units need open airflow and cannot be fully enclosed. KAI addressed this with a covered, storm-rated equipment yard that protects the chillers and backup generators. “Working closely with the client, we implemented redundant heating and cooling systems within the yard to ensure continuity of critical services while meeting storm protection requirements,” says Aleksandar Milenkov, president of KAI Engineering.
The team built the facility with flexibility in mind, adding dedicated areas where partner organizations can work alongside—but separate from—core EOC functions, with conferencing capabilities throughout to coordinate with outside agencies. An on-site warehouse holds vehicles and supplies, and the campus was expanded to accommodate about 250 vehicles, divided between public and media parking and secured spaces for officials and staff.
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While the World Cup was never on the project’s original critical path, KAI President Darren L. James said the tournament became the EOC’s first real test. The county’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management is using the facility to coordinate multiagency public safety and response across the region. “This facility serves as a centralized operations hub, providing first responders, staff and public officials with the infrastructure, technology and coordination space needed to support one of the largest public safety operations in the region’s history,” he says.
The center was funded through federal American Rescue Plan Act money under the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds program.
Vince Kong is the editor of ENR Texas & Southeast, covering construction, infrastructure, and industry trends across Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Puerto Rico. Based in San Antonio, Texas, he brings more than a decade of reporting and editorial experience. Before joining ENR, Vince led digital content initiatives for NPR affiliates in Texas and Florida and served as an editor at Treasure Coast Newspapers and a reporter at the Albuquerque Journal.
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