This session presents City of Anaheim Emergency Management’s multi-year effort to transform an existing facility into a fully functional emergency operations center (EOC), emphasizing adaptive reuse rather than new construction. We will examine the strategic and practical considerations involved in renovating an occupied space while maintaining operational readiness, controlling costs and aligning design decisions with emergency management requirements. Attendees will gain insight into how Anaheim collaborated with internal city departments—public works, finance, IT and public safety—as well as external designers, contractors and vendors. These partnerships were critical to coordinating planning, procurement and phased execution over the life of the project. The session also addresses how FEMA procurement standards and grant compliance requirements influenced timelines, scopes of work and construction decisions, offering examples of the challenges and solutions. Although the EOC renovation is still in progress, Anaheim Emergency Management has compiled a substantial set of lessons learned from this long-term effort. Insights will help attendees anticipate constraints, avoid common pitfalls and apply best practices when planning, funding and delivering resilient emergency and public safety facilities.