NORTHBOROUGH – It’s official – the Northborough Fire Department will receive a new fire station.
According to the unofficial results, 5,556 voters voted “yes” on Question 6 and 3,112 voted “no.” Northborough had a 75% voter turnout.
“It’s been a long road, to cross the finish line is so exciting for the department and our community, to all who dedicated their time and efforts in making this possible and the citizens who supported the project, thank you, thank you, thank you,” said Fire Chief David Parenti. “Our focus now turns to ensuring that the design is translated from paper into brick, mortar and steel. Citizens can have confidence that we will continue to be just as diligent during construction as we were during the feasibility and design phases, including fiscal responsibility.”
The fire station will be located at 61-65 West Main St.
Conversations and work on a new station began nearly 20 years ago when Town Meeting approved funds for a feasibility study in 2006. The Fire Station Feasibility Study Committee ultimately selected the West Main Street site as the future home of the station, and Town Meeting allocated funds to purchase the property in 2019. In 2022, the Select Board accepted the deed for the site.
The first floor of the new station would be 21,500 gross square feet and support a “clean station” concept, and the second floor would be 9,350 gross square feet.
Town Meeting took the first step in October when voters approved an article authorizing an appropriation in the amount of $41,364,992 toward the station. On Nov. 5, voters voted on a debt exclusion as part of Question 6.
The Fire Station Building Committee projected that the project would go to bid in January to March with the groundbreaking to take place early next year. Construction is estimated to take place for 14 months.
