The city of Lenexa is looking at renovating its old city hall property into a new headquarters for the Lenexa Fire Department.
Currently home to a one-truck fire station, the city would like to demolish the old city hall building on the site near 87th Street Parkway and Monrovia Street and build a structure that would serve as the new headquarters for the department.
“It cuts our response time to the 79th (Street) and Quivira corridor in half,” Lenexa Fire Chief Travis Vaughn said. “We’re in a time-based business where people get sicker or become more hurt and or the fire gets bigger the longer it takes us to get there.”
He added: “That’s why it’s imperative that we’ve got fire stations based out of areas in the community where we can touch most parts of the community that are well-populated within four minutes (of) straight drive time.”
Plans for the property envision a three- to four-bay facility that also has space for administrative offices, along with upgrades that focus on the physical and mental health of the firefighters, similar to what the Shawnee Fire Department showcased with the opening of two renovated fire stations earlier this year.
The city has devoted money to create plans
In July 2017, Lenexa City Hall moved to Lenexa City Center.
In 2020, the Lenexa Fire Department relocated Fire Station #6 to the former city hall building on 87th Street Parkway.
Since moving in, Vaughn said the location has proven to be a worthy spot for fire and emergency medical services.
“There’s a lot of people and rooftops to protect up there,” he said. “It was kind of a proof of concept situation to see how it would work. And we’ve had successful cardiac arrest saves up there.”
Already, $210,000 from the city’s Capital Improvement Program has been approved for a renovation study so the city can assess the mechanical and structural systems of the property, as well as develop site plan recommendations and cost estimates for a future fire station headquarters.
If built, the fire department’s administration would move from Fire Station #1 into the new building, joining the city’s Information Technology department, which is already there. Meanwhile, the LiveWell Health Center, a health care facility for Lenexa city employees and their families, will move to Lenexa City Center.
The old city hall building will likely be demolished
The first phase of design will look at recommendations for re-configuring the old city hall property for current and future city operations.
In order for it to properly serve as the fire department’s headquarters, the current building will likely be demolished, Deputy City Manager Todd Pelham said. A new structure would allow for a fresh start, as well as allow more space for future operations beyond the department.
“The site also gives us the opportunity to possibly put other city functions in the future that we might not know about right now,” he said. “We just feel like it’s a good anchor site to provide services with. We’re going to be conscientious of how we lay out the building so that we can have a future couple paths that allow us to (build something like), say, if we need a 15,000-square-foot annex or some other function.”
The city is committed to keeping the property
While residents have expressed concerns about the future of the property, both Pelham and Vaughn said the plans have always been to keep it for some kind of city operation.
“It’s a really nice site. It’s beautiful,” Pelham said. “We want to maintain it, but also really kind of put our anchor down for the next 40-50 years.”
A timeline for demolition and construction, as well as a budget for the project is still in the works, Pelham said, as the city works with both a general contractor and city council on the future of the property.
“The council was very firm about that, ‘Hey, we’re not leaving the site.’ We’re going to reinvest, and reinvest with a public safety asset that’s important to the east side of the community,” Pelham said. “I think it’s going to be a really cool anchor.”
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