$1.5M rehab of Port Huron's north-end fire station wrapping up
Port Huron firefighters have moved back into the city’s north-end station after a months-long, $1.5 million effort to upgrade the facility this year.
Fire Chief Corey Nicholson said major renovations are about 95% done. American Rescue Plan Act funds paid for the work, which began in August. Personnel used a trailer as living quarters nearby while work took place.
Firefighters are still in the process of moving back to the station, he said, with a short list of smaller items to check off before the project is closed out.
“Next week, we’ll be looking at removing the storage pod dumpsters and removing the trailer form the site,” Nicholson said. “So, we’ve got some work that’s still part of the scope of the project that’ll be completed in the spring just because of weather. Stuff like landscaping, a little bit of fencing, remediation of the site where the temporary facilities were at. Removal of gravel — those sorts of things.
“Then, we’ve got just a random assortment of interior stuff that will be taken care of," he added.
Renovations gutted much of the interior of the facility, also known as Station 3 at 1914 Sanborn St.
It marked the building's first major set of improvements since it was built in 1965. The renovation was one of two major fire station projects to kick off in 2022.
Those improvements included removing asbestos, a roof replacement, upgrading the building exterior and apparatus bay, and new heating and cooling systems, as well as updated emergency station alerting.
Station 3 also now better accommodates male and female firefighters with reconfigured dining and living areas — instead of a shared dorm room with areas separated by current walls — and unisex bathrooms.
“I think it’s nice to have not only a new modern facility for those who are focused on that” but a station to better accommodate all firefighters, said City Manager James Freed. “We didn’t have female firefighters back in ’65. We do now, and so it was built to allow for inclusivity in our workforce. Having modern facilities is also helpful for recruiting tools.”
The city administrator also applauded the project for coming in under budget, adding, “Given the current market, that’s a big deal.”
Nicholson said some of the remaining interior work, in addition to low-voltage cabling, included replacing some doors and hardware that were delayed because of supply chain issues.
He confirmed the project was under the $1.5 million "not-to-exceed" cost originally OK’d by City Council members, though he said they awaited a final large bill before being able to share the savings.
Nicholson otherwise attributed much of the financial feat of the project to the city’s hiring of a construction management company. He said they were thankful not to run into any surprises.
“They had viable alternatives during the final design process and then the management of the project overall,” he said.
Two firms — Partners in Architecture and the Dailey Company — have been involved with oversight of the city’s fire station projects. That includes building a new central station at White Park, the groundbreaking for which was earlier in December.
What is going on with the new central station project?
Partners in Architecture have drawn up the layout and plans for the new White Park station. The latest project bids for the work this year went to the Dailey Company.
That station will replace the city’s aging main station off River Street that was built in 1960 and which, according to officials, often citing a sinking foundation near the Black River, would not be cost-effective to repair.
The city has put the new station cost estimates at more than $10 million. And neighbors may soon notice a lot of changes to the vacant city land.
Nicholson said earth-moving equipment was expected to arrive at White Park, located mid-town off 10th Street, right after the first of the year.
“They’ve already started to prep the site,” he said. “They removed some trees, to start surveying work, and then, they’ll move right into earth work, and the first thing that goes in is a stormwater detention system. Think of it sort of like a tile system in a field, but I’ll be utilized to start to drain the site of any precipitation.”
The 18,915-square-foot fire station building will have a host of locker and dorm rooms, offices, and training areas. The building will also contain eight combined locker and dorm rooms with four bathrooms for on-duty firefighters, as well as decontamination areas, equipment lockers, storage, a lobby, multiple offices and a large training room.
Construction is expected to be carried out over the next two years.
Contact Jackie Smith at 810-989-6270 or jssmith@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @Jackie20Smith.
This article originally appeared on Port Huron Times Herald: $1.5M rehab of Port Huron's north-end fire station wrapping up
