New $1.8M Emergency Facility Under Construction In Bucks Co.

IVYLAND, PA — The renovation and expansion of Bucks County's emergency services complex is now underway.

The $1.8 million project on the Ivyland facility officially broke ground this month. Officials said the new location will be modernized and "optimized for disaster response."

“It became clear to all three commissioners early in the pandemic, when this building was ground zero for not just the disaster response, but also for a lot of our public messaging, that this facility badly needed some upgrades,” Bucks County Commissioner Bob Harvie said in a statement. “Last summer’s flooding, tornadoes and hurricane only underscored that need.”

Construction is slated to be complete in 8 to 10 months.

The updated facility will have triple the amount of meeting space, and new technology that allows multiple teams to work on different aspects of disaster response. This means allowing county 911, outside agencies, and other internal teams to work side by side, but in distinct spaces. There will also be a new press briefing room and area for handling public inquiries.

The county is paying fro the project with a combination of COVID relief and Homeland Security funding.

Several firms are assisting on the endeavor, including Holstein White, Inc. (Engineer), Matthew V. Piotrowski Architect, LLC (Architect), Magnum, Inc. (General Contractor), Palman Electric, Inc. (Electrical Contractor), Hirschberg Mechanical (Mechanical and Plumbing Contractor), and Guy M. Cooper, Inc. (Fire Protection Contractor).