Groundbreaking Held for Central Fire Station in Peekskill
After years of studying and planning, an official groundbreaking ceremony was held last week for a new Central Fire Station in Peekskill at the corner of Main and Broad streets.
The 30,000-square-foot facility, which will accommodate firefighters from Peekskill’s six existing fire companies, is expected to be completed in 2018.
“We just needed a firehouse for our departments and the needs of the departments,” Mayor Frank Catalina said during the December 21 ceremony. “We have a firehouse that the residents of our city can afford.”
The size of the Central Fire Station was reduced in size by 20% upon Catalina’s insistence after he took office in 2014 and the cost of the project dropped from $18.5 million to $12 million.
In November, the Common Council awarded a bid of $9.3 million to Rok-Built Construction, Inc. in Yorktown to build the facility. Rok-Built was one of seven firms to bid on the project and was the lowest bidder. Mitchell Associates designed the building.
The city recently cleared the land to make room for the Central Fire Station by bulldozing a liquor store that had been in a long legal dispute. The station is slated to contain eight equipment bays for emergency vehicles, kitchen facilities, sleeping quarters for 12 and a central meeting space for 200.
The council also entered into a mechanical construction contract for the station by awarding a bid of $877,000 to ABM Air Conditioning and Heating, Inc. of Hawthorne. The city received three bids for the work and ABM was the lowest bidder.
“This was much needed,” said Peekskill Fire Chief Vinny Malaspina, who mentioned firefighters were currently working in dilapidated buildings. “We’re finally going to be able to move everyone to a building in the 21st Century.”
The Peekskill Volunteer Fire Department was first started in 1813. The city’s six companies are each certified for 100 members. Firefighters respond annually to approximately 4,500 calls in Peekskill’s three square miles.
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