The Cortez Fire Protection District is revising plans for a new fire station.
In August, the district received a $2 million grant from the Colorado Department of Local Affairs to help build a station at North and Washington streets. The initial design, created by the district in conjunction with Pacheco Ross Architects of New York, called for a two-story, 16,000-square-foot building that would have cost more than $5 million to build. Since the district only budgeted about $4.2 million for the project, including $1 million of its own money and a $1.2 million lease-purchase agreement, they have had to scale back that design.
“It was just going to be too costly,” Fire Chief Jeff Vandevoorde said.
He and other members of the fire district board met with Pacheco Ross to see if they could make the building less expensive without losing any important function. They ended up removing about 3,000 square feet from the design, along with part of the second story. But Vandervoorde said the new fire station will still have all the features that initially got him excited about the project, including living quarters for seven firefighters, a workout room and enough garage space for seven vehicles. The building will also have a training room that Vandervoorde plans to make available to the public for classes and other events. In the new design, most of those rooms have been moved to the first floor.
“Basically, everything’s staying the same,” Vandervoorde said. “We just cut out one office, but everything else is the same. It’s just reconfiguring the station.”
Pacheco Ross recently drew up architectural plans conforming to the new design. The next step in the process is for the firm to develop the required construction documents so that electrical, plumbing, building and other contractors can bid for the project. That usually takes about three months, but Vandevoorde hopes to have construction companies lined up by January or February so that construction can begin in March.
Vandevoorde said the board’s highest priority throughout this project has been to get the best quality possible for their budget. They decided to enter a contract with Pacheco Ross, even though they were the most expensive bidders, because their firm specializes in fire stations. Likewise, Vandevoorde said he plans to hire the best possible contractors to build the new station, even if they aren’t the cheapest.
Downsizing the design hasn’t dimmed anyone’s anticipation of the new fire station. The fire district’s administrative assistant, Wendy Mimiaga, said she’s “very excited” to see the project come to completion.
“It’s going to be great for our firefighters, but it’s going to be really great for our community,” she said.
The old fire station and administration building will be torn down so that a parking lot can be built on their location, and the new building will combine both the old buildings’ functions.