A vacant lot off of 3rd Street and Townley Avenue will become the new home to Phoenix Fire Station No. 7, a modern, two-story station that will double the current station’s personnel and equipment capacity (rendering courtesy of LEA – Architects, LLC/Phoenix Fire Department).
Fire Station No. 7 is the busiest station not just in Phoenix, but in the entire state, responding to more than 6,000 calls annually. And as the city’s population continues to grow, the first responders at that station and others are being stretched thin – increasing response times and stress on personnel. However, thanks to voter approved funding, Phoenix and its dedicated fire and emergency response crews are getting a much-needed upgrade.
On Nov. 7, 2023, Phoenix voters passed the City Council approved $500 million General Obligation (GO) Bond Program. GO Bond programs help to fund critical infrastructure and rehabilitation needs of city facilities such as parks, libraries, fire and police stations, affordable housing, streets and storm drains. Approved projects are prioritized and allocated over the five-year period of 2024-25 to 2028-29 and included in the annual Preliminary Capital Improvement Program (CIP) presented to council each spring.
One of those approved projects is the ground-up build of a new Fire Station No. 7, which has been housed at 403 E. Hatcher Road since 1966. The new location is on just over an acre of city acquired vacant land at 3rd Street and Townley Avenue. The $21,263,730 funding allows for the replacement of Station No. 7 and upgrade to the existing station for later use by the Community Assistance Program (CAP), which has 20 units that serve the community across Phoenix.
The new construction will be an 18,000 square foot, two-story, four-bay fire station, which will support additional emergency response personnel (up to 12 from 6) and equipment. The funds will also allow the Fire Department to acquire two new apparatus (one ladder and one rescue vehicle). Beyond improved function, the station design also focuses on the health and wellbeing of the firefighters it will house.
This currently vacant lot, pictured looking north from Townley Avenue and just east of 3rd Street, will soon be the new home to Fire Station No. 7 (photo by Kathryn M. Miller).
Natural light is abundant; second-floor individual dorm rooms can accommodate 12 fire fighters and four fire captains (and pole drops allow for fast access to the departure area); the communal living areas and exercise areas are thoughtfully designed; and the decontamination areas are completely separated from living space. The public entrance will face Townley Avenue; the egress for emergency vehicles is on 3rd Street.
The design process is about 75 percent complete, according to a March 18 presentation to the North Mountain Village Planning Committee by Assistant Fire Chief Jeff Schripsema, project manager Silvio Vaninetti and architect Lance Enyart, principal at LEA – Architects, LLC, the area firm behind the design.
Once the plans are finalized, the permitting and approval process is anticipated to take about four months, with construction optimistically projected to begin by the end of 2026. Construction is expected to take about a year. Once the new station is open, it will take an anticipated four to five months to complete building modifications on the Hatcher Road property to prepare for the transfer to CAP, with an anticipated 2027-28 occupancy.
For information or to track the progress of other GO Bond projects, visit www.phoenix.gov/administration/departments/budget/general-obligation-bond.html.
