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BREAKING GROUND: from (l-r) Councilmember Kimberlee Nichols, Mayor Mark A. Murphy, Mayor Pro Tem Mike Alvarez, Councilmember Chip Monaco
ORANGE, Ca. – The City of Orange broke ground yesterday at the site of the new Orange City Fire Department Fire Station 1 and Fire Headquarters campus, on 1176 E. Chapman Ave, at the corner of Chapman Ave. and Water St.
Mayor Mark A. Murphy, Mayor Pro Tem Mike Alvarez, and Councilmembers Kimberlee Nichols and Chip Monaco moved the first ceremonial mounds of dirt on what will soon become the brand new home for Orange City Firefighters. With this action, the project has officially begun and the new building will start to rise in early 2021.
The current Fire Station 1 and Headquarters facility, originally built in 1968, has served the citizens of Orange for half a century. Over the decades, substantial improvements to firefighting techniques and equipment have left the current building no longer able to meet the needs of modern Firefighters and Paramedics. After careful analysis, it was determined that designing and building a brand new facility would be a more fiscally responsible solution.
“This is a critical infrastructure project whose time has come. I would personally like to thank the Orange City Fire Department Chiefs, Fire personnel, and City staff who have been diligently working on this project over the years,” said Orange Mayor Mark A. Murphy. “It is a credit to everyone involved that, even in our current economic climate, they were able to bring forward to the Council creative funding mechanisms that made prudent fiscal sense. The safety and well-being of our community is always our number one priority.
The new Fire Station 1 and Fire Headquarters complex will be approximately 27,927 sq. feet, making it substantially larger than the current building. An existing building that is currently on the site will be refurbished to provide an additional 3,780 sq. feet of reserve apparatus storage. Once completed, the campus will provide firefighters with a more spacious vehicle bay, equipment maintenance and storage areas, training facilities, and the Fire Department administrative offices.
Most importantly, the new facilities will provide space and technology for the Orange City Fire Department to have updated equipment, space flexibility, and administrative offices to continue their mission of providing the citizens of Orange superior service well into the 21st Century.
Award of the construction contract bid is being presented to City Council at the November 10th City Council meeting. Total project costs are approximately $23 million. The project is being funded by lease revenue bonds issued earlier this year. Project completion is anticipated in summer 2022.
