Lynnfield — A $63.5 million public safety project was approved by voters in Lynnfield back on Dec. 6. So what now? The project calls for the demolition of the existing South Lynnfield Fire Station to make way for a new headquarters. Additionally, the police and town hall facilities will be expanded and renovated.
“We should be going to bid a year from now, so over the next 12 months, the architects will be fully designing the building,” said Rob Dolan, town administrator. “We are going to be planning a very complicated move, because almost all police, fire and town hall employees are going to be displaced.”
The plan is for the displaced employees to occupy a “large portion” of the Main Street Market area, Dolan said.
“We’re actually going to take over the old pharmacy on Main Street, as well as some offices upstairs,” he said.
They will also have trailers and other municipal buildings for the employees to use. Dolan said they are hoping to be entirely done with the project and ready to “open the doors” to its new occupants in 2026.
“Like most communities, municipal buildings have been neglected. The infrastructure of the town will be second to none of any community, which I think is a great long term financial investment,” he said. He also noted that the new fire station would be more accessible for the women working in the building, saying, “Our female firefighters will actually have space to have some privacy and private restrooms and shower space and bunk space that they don’t have any of that right now.”
Fire Chief Glenn Davis said it will be difficult to work in the temporary spaces, but he is still “super excited” for the extra safety and space that the new buildings will provide — such as being able to store equipment properly.
The buildings were built in the ’60s, and they weren’t designed to withstand the “evolution” of fire service, he said. As a taxpayer of Lynnfield himself, he said he understands the “implication of asking people during very difficult times” for their financial support.
“We truly appreciate the townspeople’s support and we’ve talked about that a lot internally. All of my firefighters truly appreciate the understanding of the taxpayers and their support with their money to build these new facilities,” Davis said.
