Brooklyn Park Receives $1M Bond To Design New Fire Station
Brooklyn Park took a big step this week toward moving its Central Fire Station to a new location.
According to Brooklyn Park Fire Chief Shawn Conway, the existing fire station, located at 5700 85th Ave. N., is not an ideal home for the department.
“There [were] studies done in 2016 and 2020 to look at just revitalizing this site and keeping the fire station here,” Conway said. “Unfortunately, this just no longer is a good model.”
With its location near the corner of 85th Avenue and Zane, the spot isn’t ideal for traffic flow, Conway said.
“You could see that there is some challenges with our apparatus leaving this intersection because it’s so close to the light here,” Conway said. “But there’s no preemptive warning signal to tell any of the traffic flow, either east or west, that the fire trucks will be entering that street.”
Brooklyn Park took a step this week towards relocating its Central Fire Station to a new location down the road.
Library Demolition Ahead of New Fire Station Construction
The city believes there’s a good spot for a new fire station just down the road.
The old Brooklyn Park Hennepin County Library branch has sat vacant for years. It’s located off Zane Avenue near the Community Activity Center.
Brooklyn Park bought the building in 2019 and it’s sat vacant ever since. The city considered using the structure for a small business incubator, but found that the costs to renovate it were too high to justify.
There are issues with the roof, the HVAC systems, water leaks, mold and asbestos at the library building.
This week, the Brooklyn Park City Council gave the go-ahead to demolish the building. The exact demolition costs are yet to be determined. But the cost to maintain the vacant building are estimated at $25,000 per year.
After the site has been cleared, it could become the new home of the Brooklyn Park Fire Department.
Conway said the new location off Zane would be better for traffic flow and would be a better use of the land than the empty structure.
“That also is safer for all the vehicles, they see the trucks coming,” Conway said. “It’s a great opportunity for us to revitalize that parcel.”
Bond from the Legislature for Fire Station Redesign
Brooklyn Park was awarded a $1.1 million bond from the state legislature to redesign the station.
The city council accepted the funds this Monday.
Design work for the project could take eight to 10 months.
The new station would likely have a larger vehicle bay for fire trucks, modern amenities for firefighters, and a regional training and command center.
“We see a need within our greater community to support that, not just within the city of Brooklyn Park,” Conway said.
The overall project is likely to cost around $25 million.
The city hopes to break ground in 2024.
