HERSHEY, PA — Pennsylvania State Police opened a new tactical training area Thursday as part of a $400 million overhaul of its Hershey academy, bringing another piece of the multiyear project online as the state expands facilities for training and supporting new troopers.
The outdoor facility, known as the Callout Village, includes replica homes, a business and a place of worship where cadets and other law enforcement personnel can train for incidents ranging from neighbor disputes to active-shooter situations.
The Pennsylvania Department of General Services is overseeing the academy redevelopment, which broke ground in December 2023 and is expected to be completed in 2028. The existing academy has remained operational during construction.
“This project is a long-term investment to help the brave women and men who choose to wear the uniform to protect Pennsylvanians while keeping themselves safe,” Pennsylvania State Police Acting Commissioner Lt. Col. George L. Bivens stated.
PSP also completed a 25,000-square-foot Procurement and Supply Warehouse that is scheduled to open in the coming weeks. The agency will move those operations from a leased warehouse in Harrisburg to the academy, consolidating access to equipment and other resources.
Construction is also advancing on a Bureau of Emergency and Special Operations headquarters scheduled to open within the next few months and a grounds and maintenance facility expected to open in early 2027.
The project’s five-story, 300,000-square-foot Marquee Building is scheduled to open next spring. It will contain classrooms and administrative offices, 300 individual cadet dorm rooms, a 500-seat auditorium, an indoor tactical training village and a cafeteria.
Completion of that building will trigger the project’s second phase, including demolition of the current academy building and construction of additional training facilities. One of the planned buildings will contain a 25-lane indoor shooting range.
The academy expansion comes as Pennsylvania funds additional State Police hiring and training. The 2026-27 state budget includes $16.2 million for four additional cadet classes expected to train about 380 troopers.
The state has funded 16 cadet classes expected to train more than 1,600 troopers since Gov. Josh Shapiro took office, according to the administration. Of those, 673 cadets have graduated and joined PSP.
PSP reported a 69% increase in applicants in 2025 compared with 2022, when a college-credit requirement was still in place. The administration eliminated that requirement in August 2023.
The academy previously completed a 21,000-square-foot horse stable that opened in December 2025 and can accommodate as many as 30 horses.
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