Location Belfair, WA
Client North Mason Regional Fire Authority
Services Construction Management, Estimating & Cost Management, Program Management
Project Value $10 million
Hill provided project management and progressive design-build (PDB) advisory services to the North Mason Regional Fire Authority (NMRFA) for the construction of the Authority’s new Headquarters Fire Station 21 in Belfair, WA.
Headquarters Fire Station 21 replaces the NMRFA’s former headquarters, which the Authority had outgrown. Since its construction in 1971, the NMRFA’s headquarters fire station had gone from providing emergency response services over an area of 36 square miles to 132 square miles, and the number of annual calls has grown tenfold. To better serve the expanding community and the Authority’s operations for the next half century, the NMRFA undertook a progressive design-build (PDB) project to deliver a new station.
The project team constructed the $10 million Headquarters Fire Station 21 on 3.5 acres adjacent to the former fire station. The new facility is approximately 21,000 SF and accommodates both daytime and overnight staff with a kitchen/dining area, fitness room, day room, sleeping quarters, administrative spaces, and indoor training facilities. An attached apparatus bay houses fire engines, command vehicles, and ambulances. In addition to the new building, the project also involved utility connections, landscaping, and other site improvements.
The NMRFA’s primary goal for the project was delivering the work in the shortest timeframe possible to provide broader and more efficient emergency and life-safety services to the surrounding community with the least possible burden on the taxpayer. To reduce risk related to design and construction, save time, and save money, the NMRFA wanted to use PDB delivery. However, the NMRFA first had to attain State of Washington Capital Projects Advisory Review Board Project Review Committee approval. Additionally, as this was the NMRFA’s first PDB project, the Authority was faced with novel procurement and pre-project planning challenges.
The Hill team’s support was centered on getting the most out of PDB delivery. Using our experience with Washington’s process for approving alternative delivery methods, the local construction market, and PDB procurement best practices, Hill helped save time and launch the project as efficiently as possible. Through design and construction, Hill helped NMRFA leverage the unique advantages of PDB to deliver an outstanding and highly functional fire headquarters facility with a tight budget and in a rapid timeframe.
Through the efforts of the entire project team, the facility was delivered on time and within budget in early 2022. The project helps ensure the community of North Mason County has a state-of-the-art fire station designed to handle the challenges of fire emergency and rescue services for years to come.
The NMRFA Headquarters Fire Station 21 project was awarded Engineering News-Record (ENR) Northwest’s Award of Merit in the Small Project category.
