Austin Community College representatives say an expansion at their Hays campus will give them a world-class training facility for their criminal justice program. The $22.4 million space, located next to the current Hays campus at 1200 Kohlers Crossing, Kyle, will house the criminal justice and emergency medical services professions programs. It will feature a law-enforcement training center, emergency vehicle operations track, an indoor firing range, space for police simulation training and classrooms specially designed for emergency management operations training. G.W. Hildebrand, who chairs the criminal justice department, has been requesting an in-house training facility for ACC criminal justice students since he took over the department in 2004, he said. Until now, the program had been forced to contract out locations to allow students to learn skills required by the state for police officers, such as pursuit driving and firearms training. Hildebrand said ACC is on track to offer courses at the new space by fall 2018. From then on, ACC students who take specific courses that require them to receive training in firearms, pursuit driving, self-defense and other skills will travel to the Hays campus for classes. “[The facility] is going to make training much more efficient, and I’d say we would have higher quality opportunities,” he said. “I think it’s going to uptick the quality of our training.” In the past few years, ACC has placed over 415 students to work in their community in various police departments, Hildebrand said. “We’re real excited we’re going to have a first-class operation down there,” he said. A groundbreaking ceremony will be held Tuesday, May 9 at 10 a.m. at Hays Campus, 1200 Kohlers Crossing, Kyle.