Fire Station #6 will be needed to better serve the community and improve response times at build-out population. In anticipation of this need, land was acquired in 2008. Voters approved a total of $9.945 million dollars, in the 2016 bond election, for the architectural design, site development, and construction of a sixth (and final) fire station.
Between October 2019 and December 2019, the City invited three qualified architectural firms to interview for the design and contract. A panel of five (5) representatives from different city departments were present during each interview, who anonymously scored each firm in the categories of creativity, design, experience, references and proposed project team. VAI Architects Inc., was the recommended firm selected for further negotiation of fee.
Staff determined the design effort should be broken into two phases. The first phase of work included a complete floodplain analysis, land and tree survey, schematic design, cost estimating, design concept renderings, and site plan approval through the Technical Review Committee.
As part of the initial concept and design effort, VAI generated a cost estimate for the new fire station that puts the actual construction cost limit (CCL) of the site at $11,759,000. Beyond this amount, the equipment and a new engine will cost an additional $2,000,000.
A contract to complete this second phase is proposed now, with construction date still to be determined. Phase II design will produce construction documents for use during construction. When the time comes, a separate contract for construction services will be brought for the Allen City Council for approval. This model of architect selection and project delivery matches the current Central Fire Station Remodel / Renovation project and works well to get the project shovel ready when construction of the station is necessary.