Somerville Moves Closer to Construction of the ESF

Somerville Moves Closer to Construction of Emergency Services Facility

Construction of the new Emergency Services Facility remains on track with the Borough passing ordinances, allowing the project to move from the planning to the construction phase.

Somerville Borough is moving closer to “shovels in the ground” to construct the long-awaited Emergency Services complex. The new facility will bring Borough Police, Fire, and Office of Emergency Management (OEM) under one roof, resulting in quicker response times, greater efficiency, and enhanced public safety measures for residents. The innovative project will allow for a more coordinated and centralized response, moving the Borough’s Police, Fire, and Emergency Management from their outdated buildings into one shared facility. Despite significant impacts caused by the pandemic, the project has made notable progress in the planning, design, and financing phase and remains on track with the recently passed ordinances.

The new facility—to be located along Gaston Avenue and Cliff Street--will be equipped with the latest public safety technologies focused on improving response times, reducing redundancies, and facilitating collaboration between departments. Additionally, the building will help with recruitment and retention of essential public safety personnel who will now have a more efficient, functional, and contemporary work environment to perform their critical duties.

The initial design phase included a series of workshops with key emergency services personnel from all the departments to gather information about their vision for the project, which was then incorporated into the concept plan for the facility. Despite the pandemic hitting in March 2020, the design process continued virtually with emergency personnel and Borough stakeholder members. The developer, FD Stonewater, anticipates breaking ground in the second half of 2022.

“The Emergency Services Facilities committee was comprised of leaders from the community with the goal to design a Borough complex that would have the capacity to meet the emergency needs of the residents for generations to come,” said Councilman Granville Brady. “I’m most proud that amid the challenges of the pandemic, this project remained on schedule and the engagement from stakeholders was focused, which will result in the best possible outcome for our community,” he concluded.

“Public health and safety are and always have been Somerville’s top priority. This new Emergency Services Complex will ensure a safe community for all who work here, visit here, and most importantly, live here,” said Mayor Dennis Sullivan. “The progress that we’ve made these past two years during the most challenging times is something to celebrate, as it’s bringing us closer to making our vision for this community asset a reality.”

The Borough is working towards presenting the plans for this facility to the community face-to-face early in the new year.

About the Somerville Emergency Services Facility Project Team

FD Stonewater is a boutique real estate development, investment, brokerage, and asset management firm with national capabilities delivered through entrepreneurial and thoughtful leadership. Collectively, the firm’s leadership has a track record of more than $10 billion in investment and acquisitions, over 45 million square feet of lease transactions, and over 30 build-to-suit projects completed, with $725 million of active and completed principal development nationwide. For more information, visit fdstonewater.com.

Contact:
Colin Driver, Director, Economic Development, colin.driver@gmail.com