DeKalb hires architect as latest step for 4th fire station

DeKALB – DeKalb city leaders this week inked an architectural contract for a fourth fire station planned for city’s southwest side.

The architectural agreement formed between the city of DeKalb and Studio 222 Architects, LLC marks the latest step in the what the city has said is a plan to improve emergency response time.

At the city manager’s request, an architectural agreement was approved in an 8-0 vote.

City Manager Bill Nicklas said council action was necessary to stay on schedule with the project timeline for the buildout of a potential fourth fire station. Creation of the fire station still needs final approval by the council.

“In order to keep that, we need to at least get the ball rolling to get some plans done,” Nicklas said. “That’s what this is about.”

If approved, city leaders are proposing a location for an approximately 7,630 square feet fire station on the city’s southwest side near the intersection of South Annie Glidden Road and West Taylor Street. The quadrant in question is largely comprised of the 7th Ward but also includes large areas within the 4th, 5th and 6th Wards as well.

In 2022, the fire department handled 2,744 overlapping calls for service out of 7,437 in total, or 37%, according to city documents. In 2018, first responders fielded 2,145 simultaneous calls out of 6,082 total calls, or 35%.

The project would carry an estimated $3.8 million price tag, including $286,125 in architectural fees, according city documents. The city plans to pay for architectural costs using funds from the Ground Emergency Medical Transport Program.

The city already has some initial renderings drawn for a fourth fire station, to date.

Nicklas said the city is expecting construction-ready plans and specifications to be prepared in about 120 days.

“It’s a more complete contract than what we had initially, which is just to draw some concepts,” Nicklas said.

The fourth fire station, if approved, would be move-in ready by early spring 2025 should all go according to plan, according to city documents.