CCAC will be temporary Pittsburgh police training academy

Pittsburgh plans to temporarily relocate its police training academy from Highland Park to the Community College of Allegheny County's North Side campus, city officials said Wednesday.

The city and CCAC are negotiating a three-year deal to use a vacant building on North Lincoln Avenue that previously served as a campus arts center. Mayor Bill Peduto and public safety officials toured the building Wednesday morning.

Under an agreement subject to approval by City Council and the school's board of trustees, Pittsburgh would pay CCAC a total of $839,286 to lease the building and expects to spend an additional $100,000 on upgrades.

The three-story, 32,000-square-foot facility is expected to open Sept. 1 in time for a new class of police recruits and serve until the city finds a permanent training site.

Officials said the current academy on Washington Boulevard is outdated, rundown and plagued by frequent flooding. Police will continue to use its shooting range.

The CCAC building, a former vocational high school, provides enough space for parking, classrooms, physical fitness, tactical exercises and ongoing training updates for officers.

Pittsburgh is attempting to bolster police ranks depleted by retirements and resignations in recent years. The city budgeted in 2016 for nearly 1,000 officers. A new class of recruits is set to graduate on Thursday, bringing the number of officers to 850.

Two other recruit classes are scheduled for 2016.

Bob Bauder is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at bbauder@tribweb.com or 412-480-7306.