Newington plans to demolish its Firehouse No. 4 and build a new station in its place, a project pre-design figures put at nearly $7.7 million.
The proposal goes before the Town Plan and Zoning Commission at its July 8 meeting. The commission’s review is the first formal planning step for the firehouse, which the town says is due for replacement.
The referral, forwarded by the Town Council, asks the commission to weigh in on tearing down the existing single-story firehouse at 84 Fifth St. and constructing a two-story replacement. Planning staff have recommended a positive referral, finding the project consistent with Newington’s plan of conservation and development and characterizing it as a “significant improvement” under the statute.
The new station would extend about 5,515 square feet and was designed by the Farmington architecture firm FRIAR. The ground floor is built around two apparatus bays, one sized for a new truck, alongside gear storage and washing areas, a dispatch room and mechanical space.
Upstairs would hold separate dorms and showers for male and female firefighters, a meeting and day room, a kitchen, and offices for the captain and lieutenant.
An April estimate puts total project costs at $7.7 million or roughly $1,395 a square foot, a figure that reflects state prevailing-wage requirements and assumes no grant funding. Construction accounts for about $7.16 million of the cost.
The design also carries several optional cuts the town could adopt to trim the price. Dropping radiant floor heating in the garage bays would save about $190,600, switching from a standing-seam metal roof to asphalt shingles about $62,300, and using support columns rather than a clear-span garage structure another $73,400.
The plans remain early-stage. No site plan has been drawn, and staff said that work would follow approval of funding, which the town has not yet secured.
