Gloucester Volunteer Fire and Rescue presents Main Street station plan; supervisors form joint committee to resolve ownership, funding and procurement

Gloucester Volunteer Fire and Rescue and the Gloucester County Board of Supervisors spent the meeting discussing plans, costs and legal arrangements for a proposed new fire station and training facility on Main Street, with the board and department agreeing to form a joint committee to hammer out ownership, financing and procurement details.

The presentation from Gloucester Volunteer Fire and Rescue (GVFR), supported by architect Keith Driscoll of Little Diversified Architectural Consulting, laid out a proposed 25,000-square-foot station with separate training facilities, updated construction estimates and a timeline for build-out. The department said hard construction costs were estimated at about $16.2 million (October 2024 estimate) and that making the building LEED-certified could add another $1.1 million to $1.5 million in their estimate; the architect said LEED-related construction premiums can range roughly 5%–7% of construction cost.

Why it matters: The project raises multiple policy questions that affect county finances, procurement rules and long-term facility ownership. Supervisors pressed for clear answers about whether the county or GVFR would own the finished building, which entity would manage procurement or borrowing, how certification requirements under state law apply, and what protections should be included if GVFR cannot continue providing services.

GVFR described facility needs and design rationale. Architect Keith Driscoll said the existing Main Street building is roughly 12,000 square feet, built in the late 1930s and renovated multiple times, and is not feasible to bring into modern code and operational standards. The new design pairs an apparatus and living-quarters building facing Main Street…