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Rockaway Beach council workshop reviews feasibility of new fire station on high ground
Summary
City staff and an architect presented options to renovate, expand, demolish/rebuild, or build a new fire station on a 10-acre high-ground parcel. Order-of-magnitude cost estimates ranged from roughly $4.7M (renovate) to ~$10M (new high-ground site including soft costs); council asked for soil testing and funding research.
Rockaway Beach officials spent much of their April 8 workshop reviewing a feasibility study for the city’s fire station, focusing on whether to renovate the existing coastal facility or build a new station on a nearby 10-acre high-ground parcel.
The city manager told the council the review is a strategic planning initiative and that staff sought direction on narrowing options. “There’s no such thing as a cheap fire station,” he said, urging the council to weigh long-term operational needs as well as upfront costs. Architect Joe Slack of HGE Architects presented a building program that would serve career firefighters, describing a target facility of roughly 10,700 square feet to include apparatus bays, dorms, training and support spaces. “We’re looking at four bays that are about 16 feet wide and 72 feet deep,” Slack said, noting the existing apparatus area is less than half the proposed size.
Slack provided order-of-magnitude costs for three pathways: deep-foundation renovation and slab replacement (construction ~$3.8M; about $4.7M with soft costs), renovating and adding on (~$7.8M), and full demolition/rebuild on the current site (~$10.7M). For the high-ground option Slack estimated site development at about $1.6M and building plus soft costs near $10M total. He warned that unknown soil conditions could substantially increase foundation costs and recommended geotechnical testing before final commitments.
The council did not take a formal vote on a preferred option at the workshop. Multiple councilors said the in-place full replacement option likely should be removed from consideration and urged staff to pursue soil exploration and potential outside funding sources before the next step.
