NEWARK, NJ — Newark is about to get a big boost to its police and fire department presence in its South Ward.

There are plans to construct a new "police/fire training complex" at the former William H. Brown Academy, city officials stated Friday. The building will be renovated into "a state-of-the-art campus-style facility, with computer labs, an auditorium, parking lots and classrooms."

According to a city news release, the new training complex will "return public safety training to Newark which has lacked a public safety facility since 2010 and save taxpayers the expense of outsourcing training."