On June 3^rd the city issued the construction and building permit for the new West Wendover Fire Station which is being constructed just adjacent and southwest of the City Hall.

The Fire Station has been part of the City’s Capital Improvement Plan for nearly two decades and was originally intended to be built with the new City Hall that was completed in 2009.  However, due to financial considerations at the time and the conditions around the Great Recession, the project was put on hold.  In 2018, the city secured the main funding for the project through USDA Rural Development but the project was once again placed on hold as the city charted its course through the Covid Pandemic.  

In 2021 the request for proposals was initiated to select the Design/Build Team for the project.   The project being a design-build project versus the traditional design-bid-build project in order to provide better design and construction with a designated “team” (the general contractor/construction manager and architect) thus hopefully providing better cost control considerations and coordination throughout the project.   The city’s Design-Build Team for the project is CORE Construction out of Reno with TSK Architects out of Las Vegas.

The original USDA Rural Development community facility funding for the project was an $8.9 million long term low interest loan.  In 2022 the city applied for and received an additional $200,000 in USDA RD grant funds, the largest grant amount USDA to date has provided to a community facilities project.  That was followed in 2023 with a grant award from the State of Nevada Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG) of $500,000 and finally an award of a low interest infrastructure development loan from the State of Nevada Infrastructure Bank for $1,750,000 which occurred in January 2024.

The total cost of the project is approximately $13.6 million which includes land acquisition costs from the Bureau of Land Management, engineering fees, bond counsel, design and construction costs among other items.   The guaranteed maximum price (GMP) for construction being approximately $12 million.

This new Fire Station #13 will be located at 1113 N. Gene L. Jones Way and will have (5) extended large capacity apparatus/equipment bays and decon rooms totaling approximately 9,300 square feet.  The facility will have an additional 3,000 square feet including a public lobby area, staff offices, storage rooms, restrooms, kitchen area, training room, day room and living quarters which includes dorms and shower facilities.  The new fire station with the inclusion of the living quarters will provide the city with a future ability to provide full time 24/7 fire service with dedicated staff throughout a 24-hour period.   Thus, the facility is not meant merely to provide for the current needs of the Fire Department and community but, with this significant city investment, provide a facility which will accommodate for our growth long into the future.    

The project is scheduled to be complete early summer of 2025 at which time the city will move the Fire Department operations from its current leased location at 935 Wendover Boulevard.  Once moved, Peppermill Casino’s Inc., owner of the current property, will be able to pursue business expansion opportunities that they have had planned for many years.

Pictured below is an architectural rendering of West Wendover Fire Station #13