This is an ongoing blog posting about the project to relocate Raleigh Fire Station 3.

Contents 

• Nov 2024 – Community Meeting Scheduled
• Oct 2024 – Site Clearing Started
• Aug 2024 – Construction Bid Awarded
• May 2024 – Construction Bids Solicited
• Mar 2022 – Call for Artists
• Mar 2022 – Official Project Site
• May 2021 – Design Contract Awarded
• Nov 2017 – Property Purchased
• Earlier Project History
• Legacy Station 3

November 2024 – Community Meeting Scheduled

Design drawings will be unveiled at a community meeting on Thursday, November 14, 2024, from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.  The meeting will also feature a brief history of Station 3.

The location is John P. “Top” Greene Community Center, 401 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. See meeting announcement. 

Site photo, November 9, 2024. 

October 2024 – Site Clearing Started

By October 8, 2024, clearing of the construction site had started. 

Site photo, October 8, 2024. 

August 2024 – Construction Bid Awarded

On August 20, 2024, City Council approved a consent agenda that included the formal bid award for the construction of new Station 3. 

View agenda item that includes a pair of PDF attachments.

May 2024 – Construction Bids Solicited

On May 14, 2024, the city advertised for formal construction bids. From city bid number #274-2024-CM-13:

“The project consists generally of the following major items. Construction of as new 11,105 sf fire station and other Work indicated in the Contract Documents. Work includes masonry cavity walls, structural steel roof framing, modified bituminous membrane and structural standing seam roofing, hollow metal doors and frames, flush wood doors, non-load-bearing steel framing and gypsum board interior walls, acoustical panel ceilings, and bi-folding and roll-up fire bay doors. Interior work also includes toilet accessories, residential appliances, and furniture. Exterior works includes clearing, grading, asphalt and concrete paving, pavement markings, concrete walks, curb and gutter, retaining walls, neighborhood transition wall, retention pond. Also included are NCDOT and handicap parking signage.”

Sealed bids would be received until June 25, 2024. Also, the bid announcement noted a new street address for the project, 936 Rock Quarry Road. 

March 2022 – Call for Artists

On March 4, the city issued a call for artists, to design artwork for the facade or grounds of new Station 3. The project budget is $126,000, with qualifications submitted no later than April 15, 2022. More information. 

March 2022 – Official Project Site

Here’s the official project site and includes such details as:

• Address is 1000 Rock Quarry Road
• Site is 1.74 acres
• Budget is $11.5 million
• Design contract to Huffman Architects. 
• Project design started September 2021.
• Final design expected in fall 2022.

May 2021 – Design Contract Awarded

Included in the Consent Agenda for the May 18, 2021, meeting of City Council was authorization of a contract with Huffman Architects, PA, for the design of a new Fire Station 3 at  1000 Rock Quarry Road, for an amount not exceeding $799,988. They were selected from eight firms that responded to a request for qualifications that was issued on November 19, 2020, and were received on December 8. 

The project is for design and construction of a new station, necessitated by the age of the 1951 facility on South East Street, along with inadequate dormitory and parking space. The current station also causes an overlap of service areas that doesn’t allow for maximum response coverage, and reduces the city’s ability to meet the NFPA 1710 deployment standard.

The new facility will be approximately 12,000 square feet, with two apparatus bays to house Engine 3 and a reserve engine or ladder, as needed. 

View agenda item as well as PDF attachment. 

November 2017 – Property Purchase Authorized

Included in the Consent Agenda for the November 8, 2017, meeting of City Council is authorization to purchase a portion of a parcel addressed as 1034 Bragg Street as a site for replacing Fire station 3. 

The fire station site faces Rock Quarry Road just north of Raleigh Boulevard. View agenda item as well as PDF attachment.

The property to be purchased is currently owned by the state Department of Corrections. The city is seeking about 1.74 acres for the future fire station. The parcel is appraised at $300,000.

Funding for design and construction will be sought in FY19, along with funding for Station 13 (formerly planned as Station 30) on Ronald Drive off Wake Forest Road.

The site is located 1.7 road miles southeast of current Station 3. The change will redistribute their first-due district, and which will aid in coverage to the south and east, as Station 12 is being relocated about a mile east as well. Click to enlarge:

Earlier Project History

In 2014, reported a special facilities edition (PDF) of the Raleigh Fire Department Newsletter, planning for moving Fire Station 3 was underway. Land was sought near the intersection of Rock Quarry Road and Martin Luther King Jr. parkway. The relocation would address a “coverage gap” between the current Station 3 and the response area of Station 10. It would also eliminate “redundant response coverage” downtown, due to the close proximity of Station 3 to Station 1. 

Legacy Station 3

The current (or legacy) Station 3 is located at 13 S. East Street. It was built in 1951 and is the oldest active engine house in the city. The 3,564 square-foot building occupies a 0.3 acre site. 

It’s planned for replacement at a new location due to the tiny lot size. The new fire station is planned in the 15,000 square-foot range.

The city’s third “career” fire station was originally located at 135 E. Hargett. It opened in 1913 and moved to the current location in 1951. Station 3 housed a rescue company from 1976 to 1978, a brush truck circa 1983 to 1985, and a mini-pumper from 1986 to 2016.