Plaquemines Parish officials broke ground this week on a new Public Safety Answering Point and Emergency Operations Center in Belle Chasse, a facility meant to replace the parish's current dispatch hub that dates back to the early 1980s. The new building will handle 911 dispatch, disaster-response coordination and day-to-day emergency management for the entire parish once it's finished.
The project centers on Building 1004 at 333 F. Edward Hebert Blvd., a 9,709-square-foot structure that will undergo a complete interior buildout along with exterior modifications, according to Plaquemines Parish Government. Plans also call for an exterior equipment platform and an optional hipped roof structure, per documents from Plaquemines Parish Government that identify Dalton Architects, Inc. as the firm behind the design.
The current dispatch center is at 8056 Highway 23. The parish arranged to sell a 22,586-square-foot property at 8056 Highway 23 to the Plaquemines Port, Harbor & Terminal District for port operations, according to parish records. That sale, paired with state capital outlay funding, is financing the new facility, the parish said in its groundbreaking announcement.
How The Project Is Being Paid For
How The Project Is Being Paid For The state board approved a $2,000,000 allocation for the project through the Louisiana Office of Facility Planning and Control Capital Outlay Funding program. The state legislature included $2,000,000 in Priority 5 general obligation bond funding for the parish's dispatch center in its Fiscal Year 2025 Capital Outlay Budget, according to the Louisiana Legislative Auditor.
The project also received state funding. A May 2026 agenda proposed a $115,670 General Fund appropriation for building maintenance.
A New Neighbor For The Sheriff's Office
The new center's address, 333 F. Edward Hebert Blvd., is also listed for the Plaquemines Parish Sheriff's Office Detective Bureau, in Building 1000; the Sheriff's Office Administration Building is at 8022 Highway 23, according to the Plaquemines Parish Sheriff's Office. The facility is planned to support emergency response across the parish.
The EOC is intended to coordinate emergency management across Plaquemines Parish. Local emergency response also drew scrutiny in August, when firefighters battling a multi-vehicle RV lot fire in Belle Chasse were hampered by dry and low-pressure hydrants.
The groundbreaking marks a step in the parish's effort to build new emergency infrastructure. With the new center rising next to the Sheriff's Office, parish officials are betting that closer coordination between dispatch and law enforcement will pay off the next time a storm — or an emergency like the hazmat incident recently reported at an Empire dock — tests the parish's response systems.
