Lowell panel OKs $1.8M to hire engineers, Colliers flags $6.3M need for five priority fire stations

The Lowell City Council Municipal Facilities Subcommittee voted to authorize using $1.8 million of available FY25 capital funds to issue a request for proposals for engineering assessments and hazardous‑materials sampling at the city’s aging fire stations, members said during a March 2025 hearing.

Consultants from Colliers Engineering told the committee the firm has updated an older assessment and identified roughly $6.3 million in work to stabilize five “priority 1” fire stations, including structural, foundation and hazard‑abatement work that would allow the buildings to be safely inhabited while longer‑term decisions are made. “Those are the items that are most pressing,” Colliers’ Anthony Delizzio said, adding that the buildings are not collapsing but present unhealthy conditions for firefighters.

The work authorized by the subcommittee is limited to hiring engineering firms and completing material sampling and initial design work, not full station rebuilds. “We’re not talking about making these brand‑new, state‑of‑the‑art fire stations by any stretch,” Delizzio said. He and Colliers principal Angela Campbell told members the $6.3 million estimate covers engineering,…