Costa Mesa moves forward on plans for new fire station

Costa Mesa is one step closer to building a new fire station on Royal Palm Drive.

The Planning Commission voted unanimously Monday night to demolish the current station built in 1961 at Royal Palm and Adams Avenue and move forward with plans for its replacement.

The City Council will review the project in late 2016, when it plans to award a construction contract. The city plans to break ground in January 2017 and have the station completed by late next year.

The city plans to construct an 11,675-square-foot station with living quarters, a larger fire apparatus bay, a kitchen and offices, as well as training, dining, day and meeting rooms.

A planned open interior courtyard is intended to maximize natural light and circulation.

The new station is designed to accommodate 10 firefighters in individual, dormitory-style rooms. The projected cost is about $8.5 million.

The station was once the Costa Mesa Fire Department’s headquarters. Now, fire officials say, foundation and structural problems have left the building noncompliant with modern standards and building codes.

Over the years, the station has become increasingly worn down and cramped. It has just 9,500 square feet of space for firefighters and equipment. The communications equipment shares a space with storage areas just off the main garage. A lack of air circulation means firefighters have to keep doors open and let the smell of diesel engines filter into their gear — or risk electronics overheating.

Inside, a weight room and meeting area share space. In the kitchen, the countertop easily separates from the cabinets beneath it.

The City Council determined last year that it was more cost-effective to construct a new facility than repair or remodel the dilapidated structure.

The Planning Commission also decided Monday to move forward with a modern design scheme for the building that draws the separate functions of the fire station into one cohesive building.

“Generally, the color scheme is influenced by the traditional colors of a fire department, but specifically it draws on the nature of fire itself,” a staff report states. “The bold variegated red represents the flicker of the flame, while the deep vertical charcoal gray panels represent billowing smoke.”