Wheeling board approves plans for new fire station

The village of Wheeling is getting a new and larger firehouse to replace the aging Fire Station 23 at 780 Wheeling Road.

Village trustees voted unanimously Monday to grant a special use permit and zoning permits for the new station, which will be built on the same site after the current, 42-year-old facility is demolished.

The new station will cover 11,203 square feet, significantly more than the 6,710-square-foot station currently in use. Village Manager Jon Sfondilis said that while officials have yet to accept bids on the project, they've budgeted $4.2 million.

"The best part of this (solution) is that Wheeling will not be going out for bond loans for this project like neighboring communities and taxing bodies have done recently to fund their infrastructure and maintenance needs," Trustee Mary Krueger said.

Fire Chief Keith MacIsaac said officials won't know the final cost until later this spring. He said the department looked into renovating and expanding the existing fire station, but the estimated cost was about the same as the cost of tearing it down and building anew.

"The fire department has outgrown (the current station)," MacIsaac said. "The station was designed for three individuals per shift and we currently have five. The equipment is larger and there is no room for storage. The building has no facilities for females or unisex situations."

The new fire station will feature a lobby, maintenance room, workout room, kitchen, conference room, mechanical room, offices, bathrooms, locker room, server room, day room, bunk room and apparatus bay. The village is working with Pinnacle Engineering Group, a Milwaukee-based infrastructure company, and 846 Design Group on the plans.

Trustees also voted to allow the village to lower the building setback from 35 to 30 feet and raise the building height to 33 feet.

"Fire stations are considered a public safety facility," Community Development Director Michael D'Onofrio said. "With any major development like that, the appearance of the building needs to be approved."

During construction, the fire department will relocate a paramedic-equipped fire engine to a nearby facility and move the fire station's ambulance to the fire station on Dundee Road.

The new station is set for a spring groundbreaking. Sfondilis estimated it will take 14 months to build.