The North Hudson Regional Fire and Rescue management committee unanimously passed a resolution on March 25 to build a state-of-the-art firehouse on the West New York waterfront. NHRFR serves Union City, West New York, North Bergen, Weehawken and Guttenberg.
After more than a year of negotiations, NHRFR and Roseland Properties have come to terms on the construction of the firehouse. The new firehouse will be paid for by Roseland Properties, who is also developing a waterfront residential community in the town. The station will be located on Harbor Boulevard between Pershing Road and Hillside Avenue.
The construction cost will be approximately $1.1 million. NHRFR will cover up to $300,000 of the cost, according NHRFR director Jeff Welz.
Welz said at the March 25 meeting that the firehouse would be a two-floor 7,000 square foot station. The second floor will be used for administrative purposes.
Weehawken Mayor Richard Turner, chairman of the NHRFR management committee, said, “We agreed to split the cost for the upstairs portion, which means the developer will put up the framing for the second floor. So we’ll just have to finish the second floor.”
According to Welz, NHRFR will most likely relocate its headquarters to the new firehouse. Currently, the NHRFR administration is housed on Tonnelle Avenue in North Bergen.
“We are really excited to have the presence of firefighters on the waterfront,” Welz said.
The station will house one engine company, which is usually about a half dozen firefighters. The ground-breaking is scheduled for mid-April and it should be completed by year’s end, according to Welz.
Turner said he was glad the resolution for the new firehouse passed. “This is really a perfect location,” he said, explaining the firehouse will stand only blocks away from North Bergen, Weehawken, and Union City. “Our waterfront firehouse will be North Hudson’s newest in many years and will not only protect our waterfront community, but also enhance the safety of the entire district.”
NHRFR also passed a resolution to allocate $300,000 to refurbish the firehouse on 16th Street in Union City. The 16th Street station is the largest fire company within the regional department.
“It is important to have excellent facilities in all our firehouses,” Welz said.