Site work and new construction of a fire / police facility in Springfield, Ohio. Completed plans call for the construction of a fire / police facility; and for site work for a fire / police facility.

https://www.bizjournals.com/dayton/news/2023/03/25/springfield-new-fire-stations.html A partnership between a local college and the city of Springfield is growing stronger with a $7 million joint investment into a new fire station. The fire station will enhance training opportunities for students and is part of a larger development incentive by the city. Clark State College and the city of Springfield recently launched construction of a new fire station at 2040 S. Limestone St. in an investment that will strengthen the partnership between Springfield's Fire Rescue Division and Clark State's Fire Academy training program. As a part owner and investor in the new fire station, Clark State is contributing $1.3 million toward the facility. With this initiative, Clark State will have the ability to imbed its Fire Academy training program in the new fire station. Having the Fire Academy students perform their educational training in an active fire station gives the college the opportunity to provide them with a real-world experience that can't be replicated in typical classroom settings. "From a workforce development aspect, we truly believe that this collaborative approach to firefighter training will benefit not only Clark State students but also the City of Springfield Fire Rescue Division, as that is where many of Clark State's Fire Academy graduates begin their careers," said Doug Shantz, executive vice president, Finance, Facilities, and Operations, Business Affairs. The station is expected to be completed by the end of 2023, with the Fire Academy training program starting to work in the station in spring of 2024. In addition to the collaboration, the city of Springfield is building three other fire stations in the city. Locations of the new stations include the intersection of Kenton and Burt Street, Zichler Street, and South Charleston Pike. Each station will be an approximately $5 million investment and is funded through the American Rescue Plan Act, and all four stations were designed by App Architecture. Marker Construction will be doing the construction for each station. "These locations address a need for our community as our current newest station was built in 1981," said Jason Via, Springfield deputy director of Public Safety and Operations. "This will provide for more modernized space while also accommodating a diversifying workforce." The stations were strategically placed to provide a more efficient and effective response to Springfield residents. Additionally, the Kenton and Burt Street station will include a space for Box 27. With the new fire stations being constructed, some stations will close, with the overall goal being for Springfield to reduce their footprint from eight stations to six stations. Fire Station 3 at 1401 Selma Road has already closed, and decommissioning ceremonies will be held when another station closes, but there is currently no projected date set. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ https://www.springfieldnewssun.com/local/springfield-using-arpa-funds-to-address-homelessness-build-fire-stations/JTBPGOVVMRCDTHJXT7SWX67OVQ/ The City of Springfield spent nearly $6 million of its $44.2 million allocation of American Rescue Plan funds in 2022 toward projects that officials believe will provide tangible benefits to residents. City spokesperson Valerie Lough said the city's planned expenditures all fall within five categories: building four new fire departments; working on water and sewer infrastructure; awarding grants for arts, culture and recreation initiatives; renovating the City Hall parking garage; and providing solutions for affordable housing and displaced individuals. "Our eye is on the future and ways that we can make the best long-term investment for the people of our community," Lough said. The city has so far spent about $5.9 million of its ARPA funds in those categories. The largest investment went toward providing shelter solutions for the city's homeless, as officials committed $1.7 million to purchase the Villager Inn off of North Street with the intent of turning the motel into a temporary homeless shelter -- an approach officials said was necessitated by COVID-19s economic impact. "COVID led to the displacement of more individuals, straining the infrastructure capacity necessary to shelter not only individuals but single parents and families with children," said Springfield City Manager Bryan Heck. "We've been working at the city and county level to build capacity to address this issue." The city doubled down on this approach early this year with the allocation of another $2.2 million to purchase the Executive Inn off of Columbia Street. In total, Springfield plans to spend about $8.4 million on projects related to affordable housing and displaced individuals -- about 19% of its total ARPA allocation. Heck said the motel projects will provide temporary housing solutions, along with supportive services, as folks who were displaced by the pandemic transition to more stable situations. Springfield intends to build four new fire stations across the city at a cumulative price of about $18 million. Earlier this year, the Station No. 3 off Selma Road was decommissioned ahead of the new projects. The Springfield News-Sun reported that the 1959-built station was too small to house modern fire equipment. Lough said the new stations will "not only replace worn and outdated facilities, but will be designed and constructed to last for generations in the City of Springfield." In total, the city intends to spend $11 million on its water and sewer system, plus $6 million on its underground parking garage renovation above City Hall Plaza. About $800,000 in small grants will be given to arts and recreation initiatives. Lough said each project was chosen with a lasting impact in mind, and added that all funds will be allocated before the end of 2024 and spent before the end of 2026, per federal guidelines. "When we started to make decisions about how these ARPA dollars could be used to benefit our community, our clear priority was to select areas where we can affect practical, long-term and sustainable change for the people we serve," Lough said. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ https://www.bizjournals.com/dayton/news/2022/08/26/springfield-new-fire-stations.html The City of Springfield is working on plans to build four new fire stations in the next three years, replacing outdated stations. The new stations are required to serve a growing community and will include facilities to accommodate a more diverse workforce. The stations will be located at the corner of South Limestone Street and Auburn Avenue; near the corner of Kenton and Burt Street; on State Route 41 close to the entrance of the Prime Ohio I Industrial Park; and off of Zischler Street near West North Street. The first station set for replacement is on South Limestone. The city has contracted with App Architecture in Englewood for the design and Marker Inc. in Columbus for the construction. In addition, it will be built in conjunction with the city's community partner, Clark State College. The joint effort will total over $6.5 million with funding from both the city of Springfield and Clark State. Springfield Fire Division Chief Brian Miller shared that the project will be completed in two phases. The plan is to break ground in October of this year, and substantial completion is anticipated by December 2023. "The most noticeable difference will be the square footage of the stations," he said. "The size and number of our apparatus (vehicles) has grown tremendously. Additionally, storage space for equipment will grow considerably. ... We are attempting to design the stations so there is room for growth as well." The new stations will also promote diversity by transitioning to gender-neutral sleeping quarters, and there will be unisex restroom/shower rooms, both being designed to promote privacy. "Building four new fire stations will allow us to address our aging infrastructure," said Logan Cobbs, deputy city manager in Springfield. "Modernizing our stations will allow for us to accommodate our apparatus and equipment, while also providing for more modern amenities for the men and women of our Fire Rescue Division." Doug Schantz, vice president for business affairs at Clark State, said that the college is very excited to support and partner with the city on the project, and that it serves as an ideal opportunity to embed its fire academy training program into the new fire station. "Having our fire academy students perform their educational training in an active fire station will provide them with a real-world experience that can't be replicated in your typical classroom setting," Schantz said. "Clark State has always maintained a strong sense of community in all that we do, and we are proud of this partnership with the City of Springfield as we each strive to have a positive impact on the people that we serve." The other three stations have a substantial completion date set for early 2025 and contracts will be in place for architects and construction firms by December of this year. The remaining three stations will total approximately $15 million and will be solely funded by the city, as a result of a city levy renewal by voters in 2021 and the introduction of the American Rescue Plan Act dollars. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ https://www.springfieldnewssun.com/news/springfield-to-build-6-fire-stations-to-replace-existing-facilities/HGHMMFW4RNA3BKXY4LUZIW7CDU/ Springfield officials are seeking to build a total of six new fire stations, with three of them to be built by the end of 2024. The six new fire houses are part of the city's grand plan to replace its existing seven stations, all of which were built more than 50 years ago. Reducing the number of fire stations to six and building the new ones in strategic locations around the city will improve services and response times, officials said. The first three fire stations, which were approved for construction last year, are all scheduled to be built by the end of 2024, said Springfield Fire Chief Brian Miller. They will be located in various locations through the city. However, officials have not determined locations or construction timelines for the other three stations. Construction of the first set of fire stations will be funded by federal COVID-19 relief money. In total, the city will received $44.2 million as a result of the American Rescue Plan that was signed into law last year. Springfield has until 2024 to allocate that money for projects and expenditures. The deadline to spend the money is December 2026. But, it is unclear what funding sources will be used to pay for the other new fire stations that will be built. Springfield city commissioners have voted to purchase property on the west side for one of the new fire stations. The vote occurred last week during the commission's bi-weekly public meeting. As a result, the city will enter into a purchase agreement with Sherman R. Kapp, Trustee for property located in the vicinity of Zischler and Bechtle Avenues for an amount not to exceed $170,000. That station will be built after the ones that will use American Rescue Plan funding. However, a timeline has not been established yet. Efforts to build new fire stations in the city stem from the need for structures that can accommodate modern fire equipment and be strategically located in order to improve services and response times. "The placement of those stations are imperative. Our ultimate goal is to more efficiently and effectively serve the community with six stations as opposed to the current seven," City Manager Bryan Heck said. "The average age of our stations is 56 years-old. We know that we are going to have to address that through either new construction or major renovations. That is the path that we are on and working towards," he added. Some aging stations are too small to accommodate modern fire apparatuses or don't have infrastructure needed to aid in efforts to build a more diverse workforce, such as a push to hire more female firefighters. City officials say that the new fire stations will not only better accommodate new equipment but also help modernize and improve services. Miller said the plan the city is working on now is to ultimately transition from seven stations to six while not creating a gap in coverage and addressing recent growth to the city, especially in the eastern part. "We will do that with data. We will make sure that we continue to meet our best practices, response times and so forth in all areas of the city. Eventually get from seven to six (stations) and that gives us some staffing flexibility," Miller added. Currently, the first of the new stations that will be built will be located at a former Wendy's location on South Limestone Street. The total cost of the new station could be up to $6 million and the plan is to break ground on that project this year. It will be a partnership with Clark State College and Springfield plans to invest $5 million into that project. The rest of the money would come from other sources including Clark State, which has a fire training program. The other two stations that will be built includes one on Burt Street, in which the city purchased that property last year for $300,000. The other will be located at 3925 South Charleston Pike. Springfield commissioners voted earlier this year to authorize Heck to enter into a purchase agreement for that property with Yingst Holdings LLC for $305,000. The latter will better accommodate a planed increase in residential housing in the east side of the city, due to several planned housing developments located on land annexed to the Springfield from Springfield Twp. No immediate plans have been made regarding what will happen to current fire stations once they are replaced, said Heck. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ https://www.springfieldnewssun.com/news/springfield-looking-to-move-forward-with-construction-of-new-fire-stations/NLFXWVCRARCARMRUMUN4TTRFPY/ Springfield is taking steps to build the first of three new fire stations with the aim of replacing older ones, implementing new equipment as well as investing millions of dollars into the project. Local elected officials are considering an agreement that will lead to the design phase of a new station on South Limestone Street that will take the place of a former Wendy's location. Springfield city commissioners are expected to vote later this month to authorize the entering into an agreement with App Architecture LLC regarding that work for an amount not to exceed $350,000. Construction could start this fall, meaning the station could be open by late 2023, said Springfield Fire Chief Brian Miller. The cost for construction is around $6 million with the city's portion coming from coronavirus pandemic federal relief dollars allocated through the American Rescue Plan. The city was allocated $44.2 million in federal relief and has until 2024 to allocate that money for projects and expenditures. The deadline to spend the money is December 2026. All three fire stations that will be built will be funded by using some of the city's American Rescue Plan allocation. The cost of each fire station project and the city's investment into those projects will range, but could be up to $5 million each. In terms of the South Limestone location, the city plans on investing $5 million of American Rescue Plan dollars. The rest of the costs would be covered by other parties including Clark State College as it is a partner in the project. Clark State has a fire training program and the director of that program is also a battalion chief for the Springfield Fire/Rescue division. The college is looking to have a classroom on site as well as some storage for their fire apparatus, said Miller. "So there is an opportunity for us to share the classroom because we have educational needs in the fire (division) and they have them at Clark State. They are going to bring some money to the table, the city is going to bring some money to the table and we are going to sit down with the architect and see if we can blend both interest into one building," said Miller. As the design process proceeds, Miller added they will have a better idea of what the new station will look like, what needs will be met by the new station as well as how much money in total will be invested, including how much Clark State wishes to spend. "We decided that we are going to build the South Limestone station by itself because we are partnering with Clark State and the footprint will likely be different than the other stations. Also because the lot there is much smaller," Miller said. "We will have some more flexibility with the other two stations," he added. The other stations that are planned to be built, includes one on Burt Street as well as another on the eastside of the city, however an exact location has not been confirmed. The idea is to have all three stations built or almost done by 2026. The new stations will replace some existing ones being used by the fire division. The city is still determining if it's going to keep the number of stations at seven once the new stations are completed or consolidate to having a total of six stations serving Springfield. Those changes depend on the locations of the stations as well as allocation of resources and whether the change in the total number of city fire stations would have a positive impact on services and response times. Miller said in regards to the planned building of the three new fire stations, the city has been looking at locations that will allow the fire division to better serve residents, including decreasing run times for both ambulances and fire engines. City officials said the new stations will also be able to accommodate new fire equipment including fire engines as well as help modernize the fire division's operations. The average age of those stations being used by city firefighters is 56 years old, with the newest one being built was in 1981, according to Springfield City Manager Bryan Heck. The new fire stations will not impact the number of firefighters employed by the city. The division is required to have a minimum of 127 firefighters, Miller said. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Construction of the South Limestone Street Fire Station