Lenexa city councilmembers expressed support for demolishing the old city hall and building a new permanent fire station and city IT headquarters on the grounds of the site along 87th Street Parkway.
At a Committee of the Whole meeting on Oct. 14, Lenexa city staff presented a Fire Station 6 and IT Headquarters Master Plan Report, which includes a proposal to raze and replace the old City Hall building.
Staff, working with a team of consultants, weighed three options for the future of the site, located at at 87th Street Parkway and Monrovia Street, which would also be home to a permanent Lenexa Fire Department headquarters.
The design team found that constructing an entirely new 27,000-square-foot building on the east portion of the property to be the most efficient and economical choice, Deputy City Manager Todd Pelham said
The concept is estimated to cost $27.7 million.
A new building will allow for the Lenexa Fire Department to deploy emergency services quicker and more efficiently in that area of the city, Lenexa Fire Chief Travis Vaughn added during the meeting.
“The ‘north star’ for this project has always been about being able to provide a higher level of service to improve outcomes for specifically the area in the northeast part of our community,” he said.
Talks about razing the property have been happening for about a year, when city staff last brought up the proposal.
The master plan was presented for discussion only and no action was taken.
The design team for the project includes Finkle + Williams Architecture, TCA Architecture Planning and Renaissance Infrastructure Consulting, among others.
The city moved from old City Hall in 2017
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, Fire Chief Travis Vaughn said the location has proven to be a relief for other fire stations in the area.
“We’re on pace this year to run 7,880 calls, and 75% percent of those calls, without Station 6, would be handled by stations 1 and 2,” he said. “(Since) we’ve added this third station in this very busy territory, it’s really helped kind of relieve the burden of those other two stations that were handling all those calls from before and handling them from a further distance.”
Because of that, Vaughn advocated for building a new station that would include individual bunk rooms for eight firefighters, offices and supporting residential areas, three double-deep drive-thru apparatus bays and a bay support space.
The city looked at three options
The three paths the city could go include:
- Demolishing the old city hall building and constructing a new building on the east side of the site that would house Fire Station 6, the city’s IT department and a new fire department headquarters.
- Repurposing a portion of the existing old city hall building to house the IT and fire department offices, while building a new, separate structure for Fire Station 6.
- A phased concept, which would include building a new facility for Fire Station 6 first and then later adding a fire and IT administration wing and new parking lots.
All three scenarios will place the fire station on angle that gives the apparatus direct access to Monrovia Street rather than 87th Street Parkway, allowing for easier access north or south to a signalized intersection, city documents stated.
City staff recommended constructing a new building all at once because it was the most cost-effective option to start from scratch.
While the city explored saving and renovating City Hall, it was found to be a more expensive project because of its outdated mechanical and electrical systems.
“We would not recommend reusing the systems that are there for multiple reasons,” Carl Holden, of Henderson Engineers, said during the meeting. “Many are passed or at the end of their useful life, from a system standpoint, and that’s creating barriers for even repairing or maintaining this equipment. Some of it’s not functional.”
In addition, the city would also save money on utilities. It is currently paying about $162,000 per year on electricity, gas and wastewater at the old city hall, Deputy City Manager Todd Pelham said. The new building would bring that cost down to a projected $65,000 annually.
“We instantly almost get some operational savings by going to a new building,” he said.
City councilmembers seem on board
At last week’s committee of the whole meeting, councilmembers like Craig Denny and Bill Nicks spoke positively of the city’s recommendation.
“I like the new build direction that you’re going in. When we did the Justice Center, we heard and learned how important (being) in proximity was to getting the job done … This is a good idea,” Nicks said.
While he said he was in favor of it, Councilmember John Michael Handley noted that none of the concept featured a fountain, which the current property has.
While the city staff would study adding a fountain into future plans if it was requested, Pelham noted that it’s an additional expense that would drive up the cost.
“Operationally, it is an expense that, again, we love fountains. But operationally, there is a big issue with this,” he said.
What’s next
The next step will be for the city to incorporate a design and construction project for Fire Station 6 and IT Headquarters into the City’s five-year Capital Improvement Program.
Lenexa City Council will consider its 2026–2030 CIP at a meeting in early January 2026.
Go deeper: Lenexa explores building new fire HQ on old city hall property
