Melissa Frick
mlive.com
(TNS)
GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Construction will start this spring on a new fire station on Grand Rapids’ southeast side, just blocks from where a suspected arson fire engulfed a building this weekend.
On Tuesday, Feb. 25, the Grand Rapids City Commission approved a construction contract with Holland-based EV Construction to build the new $12 million fire station at 1823 S. Division Ave.
The Grand Rapids Fire Department’s new Station No. 10 will replace the city’s old and dilapidated station on South Division Avenue, just two blocks north of where the new station will be.
Chief Brad Brown said the current Division Avenue station is old and dilapidated and is “past its useful life.”
“This fire station is long overdue,” he said.
During a presentation to the city’s public safety committee Tuesday, Brown mentioned the Sunday, Feb. 24 fire that caused significant damage to a commercial building and injured a firefighter.
The fire is now under investigation as a possible arson case.
“We want to thank the police department for their help on a fire a couple blocks away from that (the new Division station) Sunday evening,” Brown said. “We’re working in conjunction with them on the investigation.”
RELATED: Arson suspected in fire that damaged Grand Rapids commercial building
The fire chief said he expects to be able to move into the new fire station in fall 2026.
The city will be tearing down an old warehouse at 1823 S. Division Ave. to make way for the new station.
Last month, the city commission approved the demolition of the former In the Image building, which the city purchased in 2020 to build the new station.
RELATED: Warehouse demolition to make way for new $12M Grand Rapids fire station
“You’ll see that old structure come down within a few weeks, and then as soon as the weather finally breaks in the spring, we’ll be off to the races,” Brown said.
In addition to the Division station, Brown also gave updates on the fire department’s two other ongoing construction projects on Tuesday. Together, the three projects total $67 million, he said.
Kendall Street Fire Station
Construction of the new Kendall Street Fire station, located at 4044 Kalamazoo Ave. SE, is on-track to be completed by fall 2025. Crews broke ground on the new facility in September, and Brown said he expects that construction site to be fully enclosed soon.
EV Construction is also leading that project, Brown noted.
The $8.1 million Kendall station is being fully funded by state and federal grants. State lawmakers allocated funding in last year’s budget to cover the construction of the building, and a federal grant is covering the staffing of the fire department for the first three years.
Pannell Street training facility
Crews are planning to begin site work this summer on the new firefighter training and operations facility at 850 Pannell St. NW, which Brown said will be move-in ready by March 2027.
Brown said he is working to cut down the cost of the new training facility, which currently faces an $8.9 million funding gap between projected costs and the city’s budgeted funding.
As of last fall, the project was expected to cost the $43 million. Brown said he expects to receive an updated estimate on the project next week, but in the meantime he’s working to find ways to bring costs down.
“We are value engineering, we’re trimming, we’re waiting on that next estimate to come in, and then we’re working with the CFO and deputy CFO on ways to close that gap a little more,” he said.
The city has received $36.5 million in grant funding for the three fire station projects, Brown said. About 35% of the Pannell Street project is being covered by those funds.
The new five-story facility will house the fire department’s live fire training, maintenance shop and emergency operations center, and more. Currently, those services are all spread out across the city.
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