Medford Selects Architecture Firm to Design Fire Station Headquarters

The City has selected the architectural design firm The Galante Architecture Studio, Inc. (TGAS) to design and envision the potential new Medford Fire Department Headquarters, Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn announced. The selection of an architect comes as multiple other improvement projects for Medford’s fire stations are funded, finished and/or in progress, including the hiring of an Operations Project Manager (OPM) who assisted in the hiring process.

“Our fire department was not being well served with many of its current facilities including an antiquated and inefficient headquarters,” said Mayor Lungo-Koehn. “For the past three years, I’ve been working with my team, led by the City’s Chief of Staff Nina Nazarian, to bring our fire stations up to current standards and develop a plan to create a state-of-the-art headquarters that meets our public safety and emergency response needs.”

Medford has allocated nearly $1.3 million since 2021 for improvement and renovation projects at the City’s five fire substations. This total does not include funding for additional projects the City is just starting nor the new headquarters, which will be the largest of the City’s fire renovations and require a bond.

The City is also working on the replacement of the Engine 3 apparatus bay floors, awarded this month for an additional $450,000 allocated to the substation upgrades through CDBG funds.

In partnership with Medford Fire Chief John Freedman, the administration is additionally planning on allocating nearly $500K in ARPA funding to enhance the communications systems between the stations.

“All of this work to repair, renovate and reimagine all of our fire facilities would not have been possible without the support and tireless advocacy of the Mayor, Chief of Staff Nina Nazarian and teamwork with the Office of Procurement and the Office of Planning, Development and Sustainability,” said Chief Freedman. “The Mayor made the vision of building a new Fire Headquarters to meet the needs of a 21^st century department a priority. This is evident by the hiring of the Owners Project Manager in 2022 and now with the selection of TGAS, the City is moving on to the next phase of the project. Thank you to all involved for working with fire department leadership to bring significant progress to this daunting process.”

In total, there has been $3.5 million put toward projects complete or near completion, as well as over an additional $20 million to be put into the reimagined headquarters.

To date, work in progress or already completed projects include:

• Hired Galante Architecture Studio, Inc. as Fire Headquarters design architect
• Hired the Vertex Companies LLC to serve as Owners Project Manager for Fire Headquarters design and construction
• Roof replacements at Engines 4, 5 & 6 with repairs to roofs at all other fire buildings
• Contracting professional services for structural review, and ultimately design for changes needed, of the Engine 3 apparatus bay floor
• Kitchen Renovations at Engines 2 & 5, with Engine 6 in planning phase
• Replacing light fixtures and Engines 2-6 with energy efficient fixtures
• Replacing electrical outlets at Engines 2-6
• Repairing or replacing overhead doors at Engines 2-6
• Installation of water re-circulator at Engine 6
• Engine 5 walkway, drainage, and landscaping work
• Secured CPA funding for design of restoration to windows at historically significant stations (Engines 3, 4, & 6) with window renovation/replacements planned at all substations
• New gear dryer, wireless headset communications system, and technology enhancements thanks to a state grant from Rep. Paul Donato
• window renovation/replacement project at every fire substation.

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