The second project is the installation of sidewalks on the city’s busiest stretch of retail and restaurants on Bechtle Avenue.
A look at the the projects and where they stand:
New westside fire station
The city is contracting with App Architecture LLC for the design of Fire Station #5 to be located on North Thompson Avenue at West North Street, on the site of the former Villager Inn. The design work is estimated at $189,302, which is only a minor portion of the overall cost to be invested in the project.
Officials predict the total cost for the fire station, once complete, could range between $5 and $7 million.
The new fire house will include bays for four fire engines and a space for Box 27, the voluntary organization that actively supports first responders with water, food and comfort as they respond to emergency situations.
The city originally purchased the site of the Villager Inn in December of 2022 with plans to remodel and repurpose it as a homeless shelter. The $1.7 million purchase was funded through federal American Recovery Act Plan (ARPA) funds.
In the months following the purchase, the structure sustained fire and water damage and fell victim to vandalism. Those issues, and the failure to attract a partner in the planned renovation project, resulted in commissioners voting on emergency basis to demolish the Villager Inn rather than follow through with plans to repurpose to combat homelessness. Demolition cost an additional $125,000.
At the time, the city said it would explore redevelopment ideas for the property.
In March this year, officials announced the site instead would become the location of one of the city’s planned new fire stations. Federal ARPA dollars are also the main source of funding for construction of four new fire stations that are expected to serve the city for the next 50 to 90 years, according to City Manager Bryan Heck.
The new South Limestone Street Fire Station #2 is the first of the planned stations to near the finish line. Construction has included additional expenses and delays, but the station could open in June.
Crews earlier this year broke ground on another station currently under construction at 3925 South Charleston Pike to serve Springfield’s growth to the east.
City leaders have put a hold on plans for fourth new fire house planned for construction due to cost increases driven primarily by labor, according to Heck.
“That’s where we’ve seen the biggest fluctuations in cost,” he told commissioners.
Bechtle Avenue sidewalks
City officials also approved funding last week for construction of sidewalks along the busy central commercial and business area of Bechtle Avenue and sidewalks on Hillcrest Avenue to Bechtle Avenue.
Eighty percent of the estimated $4.5 million dollar cost of the project is federally funded, according to Heck, with the city absorbing the remaining 20%.
When grant funding for the project was first announced a year ago, Heck noted the goal is to create more pedestrian connectivity for that corridor. City officials have increasingly pursued federal grant funding, noting the city benefits greatly from leveraging federal dollars back to the community to underwrite such infrastructure investments.
City Services Director Chris Moore indicated current plans call for sidewalks on both sides of Bechtle Avenue. He predicted July of 2026 as an estimated start date for work to begin based on when federal funding becomes available.
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