Mayor Fulop Breaks Ground on Jersey City’s First New Firehouse in 20 Years, Replacing 116-year-old Condemned Fire Station
JERSEY CITY – Mayor Steven M. Fulop will join City Council members and the Jersey City Fire Department today at 2 p.m. to break ground on Jersey City’s first new firehouse in 20 years. The $5.6 million state-of-the-art firehouse is located in the Bergen-Lafayette neighborhood, one of Jersey City’s most densely populated areas.
The new 12,000 square foot fire station will house Engine 10 and Ladder 12, formerly of Halladay Street. It will replace the decommissioned 116-year-old fire station, which was condemned after the floor collapsed inside the single-bay structure, originally built for horse-drawn fire apparatus.
“We are furthering our commitment to bring renewed opportunities to areas that need it most, and this firehouse is our latest investment in the key community assets our residents deserve,” said Mayor Fulop. “This project is two-fold in that we are putting the critical resources to build upon recent growth in Bergen-Lafayette, while also expanding public safety with a newly equipped and modernized firehouse to enhance safety for our brave firefighters and the greater public.”
Located at 627 Grand Street, which is currently a vacant lot, the new firehouse will be green construction and a LEED Silver Certified structure
designed with dual bays to accommodate three full-sized apparatuses, advanced decontamination and hose extraction equipment, turnout gear, and housing for firefighters.
“Our firefighters answer thousands upon thousands of emergency calls every year, and this new location will put our first responders in the heart of the community to enhance visibility as well as emergency response,” said Public Safety Director James Shea. “This new firehouse will also include communal spaces to allow for training exercises and offices.”
“With the population growth in this area, due to the number of new businesses and housing coming online, a modern facility only makes us that much more prepared to protect the residents and properties in an emergency,” said JCFD Chief Steve McGill.
“The new location provides ample space for a modern fire station to operate more efficiently and still remain a part of the Bergen-Lafayette neighborhood,” said Brian Weller, Director of Architecture.
The new firehouse comes to the neighborhood, which has seen a great deal of new development under the Fulop Administration. Despite the economic uncertainty in the region throughout the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the structure is the latest investment the City has made to the Bergen-Lafayette neighborhood and to public safety in recent months. A new Public Safety Headquarters is currently being built and scheduled to open in the near future as part of the City Hall Annex Complex on Martin Luther King Drive. The Jackson Square complex is the largest public investment in Bergen-Lafayette that Jersey City has seen in decades.
Construction on the brand new firehouse is expected to be completed Summer of 2022.
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