116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
North Liberty to consider $18 million fire station rebuild
Move comes after city put plans for a second station on hold
Jul. 23, 2025 5:30 am, Updated: Jul. 23, 2025 8:09 am
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NORTH LIBERTY — The city of North Liberty is considering its options for demolishing and renovating its outdated, inadequate fire station — a project that’s estimated to cost $15-18 million — after putting plans for a second station on hold due to staffing concerns and structural inadequacies at the existing station.
The city has been presented with two possibilities: Option A and Option A-1. Both have similar footprints, but Option A would expand the existing truck bays, while Option A-1 would call for demolishing and rebuilding the bays.
The city council has yet to make a formal decision on how the city will move forward, and construction likely would not be completed until 2026 or 2027.
Earlier this year, the North Liberty City Council approved an agreement to spend $270,000 to buy a piece of property directly behind the existing fire station, at 25 W. Cherry St., to allow for station expansion. The purchase came just a few years after the city bought land near Centennial Park for a second fire station.
Option A is estimated to cost $15.8 million, while Option A-1 could cost around $18 million. Fire Chief Brian Platz and city staff have said they favor Option A-1 because the new construction would allow for additional pull through bays, it would create an open concept truck room, and it would be up to modern building standards.
“... the opportunities that offers us regarding the potential for a third or fourth pull through bay, the additional height for the apparatus and those garage doors, the additional storage space, training space of that mezzanine level. It's pretty essential that they get those types of spaces if we're going to be doing an overhaul to the building, not even just for today, but for the future,” Natalie Oppedal, architect for Shive Hattery, said of the cost difference between the options.
The current fire station’s apparatus bays aren’t tall enough to maintain some of its larger trucks without moving the truck out of the bay, something that’s uncommon in modern fire stations.
Also, the department is looking to acquire a modern aerial truck or a larger rescue vehicle, and those would not fit in the current bay.
A fire in any building taller than three stories — North Liberty has more than 115 of those — would be a challenge for the department to respond to with its current aerial equipment, Platz previously told The Gazette.
Station to remain operational during construction
Regardless of the option the city chooses, North Liberty’s only fire station will remain open throughout construction. While the finer details would be established once a design is selected, both options would be constructed under a similar plan.
Phase one would be demolition of part of the apparatus bays the station currently uses on the west side of the existing station. In its place, the station and administration space would be rebuilt from scratch.
Once that’s completed, the second phase would call for the relocation of department employees to the new building, and demolition of the existing building on the east side. From there, additional bays would be added.
During the construction process, when some of the bays are unavailable, the city would need to store fire equipment in other municipal buildings or outdoors. The city also is exploring the possibility of portable units. Platz said he’s confident that the station would be able to operate effectively under the proposed phases.
“'It appears to me like we would be able to fit at least four trucks, if not five, during the entire time at this facility. And so we can be a little strategic with regard to what truck do we put somewhere else during the middle of summer, middle of winter … So those kinds of things we can certainly talk about … I’m much more confident now that I've seen the final presentation of moving forward, and I think we can work through those issues,” Platz told the city council.
Existing station’s problems
In addition to concerns over the bay height and space for equipment, the existing station has space and safety concerns for the people who work there. Shive Hattery worked with fire department and other city staff to develop priorities for the new station.
“The biggest one was turnout time and the response rate. How quickly can they get out to the apparatus and get out of the building?” Oppedal said at a city council meeting. “Day-to-day function was another one. How do they operate on a day-to-day basis, doing paperwork versus training, things like that. And then the last one was the quality of life. There are a lot of factors that go into supporting the health and wellness of our first responders, and that was no different.”
The existing fire station was never meant to have people in it 24/7, Platz said. The building has no sprinkler system, it is not compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the living areas have poor ventilation.
Platz said the kitchen is small with minimal food storage space. Employees must share office pace. There isn’t a dedicated training room, and the room where training and conferences are held is essentially a hallway, Platz said.
Rescue equipment and other fire gear is being stored on the floor or in offices due to lack of space on the firetrucks and other storage areas, Platz said.
In addition to space concerns, the station’s infrastructure isn’t best suited for a fire department. The building’s water line is only 2 inches, which Platz said makes it time-consuming to refill the water tanks in the trucks. The flooring also isn’t ideal.
Platz said the department has focused a lot on fire suppression training in the past five years and is continuing to expand training for other types of hazards and rescues.
Sales tax revenue may be used for fire station
While North Liberty has not officially approved a plan for the new station, leaders already are looking into funding mechanisms that could help support it.
Earlier this month, the city council approved putting a 1 percent local-option sales tax in front of voters this November. City staff estimate the sales tax could provide North Liberty with $1.7 million to $3.9 million in revenue each year.
The ballot language states that tax revenue will be put toward “50% for Property Tax Relief; and 50% for capital projects, including but not limited to, fire stations, community center upgrades, parks, trails, and other projects identified in the City’s Capital Improvements Plan; and for programs and initiatives that increase affordable housing supply and support neighborhood reinvestment projects, home improvement/renovation grants, rental rehabilitation, and other housing projects designated by City Council.”
Comments: megan.woolard@thegazette.com
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