Construction is underway on a private training facility in Jefferson Township for law enforcement, first responders, and the military.
Monica Hall, the operations administrator for The Lab Training Center, said the Lab hopes to invite police departments from across the country to train at the facility. She said they also hope to provide training to federal agencies and the military, especially the reserves and national guard.
Hall said she hopes people will be attracted to the Lab when they see what services it has to offer.
“We’re offering really good training and really good facilities for a really reasonable rate,” Hall said.
Hall said the project is privately funded by a group of investors.
Courses offered at the Lab will include active threat response, VIP protection, and progressive tactical training, which “gives officers different ways to train and think about the threatening situations they face on a daily basis,” Hall said in an email.
The facility will include long-range shooting ranges and sniper towers, Hall said, enabling officers to practice shooting from farther away and from different heights.
Hall said the team at the Lab knew they wanted to build their facility in Michigan.
“We were searching for land for quite a while,” she said, “and when we saw a listing for the plot of land that was being advertised, a couple of the guys went and looked at it.”
The facility will be located on about 105 acres about 20 minutes southeast of downtown Hillsdale, Hall said in an email.
According to Hall, one of the reasons they chose the location in Jefferson Township was because they would not need special permitting for their facility, unlike other locations.
“It really all fell into place that way,” Hall said.
Hall said Jefferson Township officials have been “super helpful” when team members have come with questions, while local businesses welcomed the Lab by offering their services.
“Everybody has been amazing to work with,” Hall said. “People have been super welcoming.”
