FRANKFORT, KY - A former prison in central Kentucky is being turned into a training academy for state police.

The Lexington Herald-Leader reports that the 326 acres in Frankfort that used to make up the Frankfort Career Development Center should be ready by June 2014.

The $4.5 million conversion of the site began shortly after the prison was closed in 2011 due to a decline in population. Kentucky State Police have been advocating for a new training facility for more than two decades.

Currently, cadets live and train at a former Ramada Inn on U.S. 60 that is also used as the state police headquarters.

Kentucky State Police commissioner Rodney Brewer says they hope to break ground on a multi-purpose building at the former prison site in the spring.