North City Fire Station 63 will be completely rebuilt on site

Demolition of the old fire station 63
Photo by Mike Remarcke

Shoreline Fire celebrated the start of construction on its newest fire station with a groundbreaking ceremony on April 16. The new station will replace the current Station 63, located at 1410 NE 180th Street, in the North City business district of Shoreline.

Last training in the 50 year old station
Photo by Mike Remarcke

The old station was 50 years old, had undergone two major remodels over its lifetime and was starting to have many of its systems fail. A new, larger station is needed to support program needs and prepare for future growth including increased call volumes.

Since the old property was too small to support this growth, the department evaluated over 20 potential sites in the immediate area. The current site was selected for its location, which had the best response performance measures and had the least impact on the community. The other two of the top three sites would have required the acquisition of at least six properties.

One of the purchased properties behind the station
Photo by Mike Remarcke

The department bought four additional properties behind the old station consisting of a small commercial building and three small houses.

The North City Station 63 serves the northeast portion of Shoreline as its primary response area. Its location just off 15 Avenue NE and access to NE 185 Street is ideal.

Architect's drawing of the new Station 63

The new building will have four apparatus bays with three of them as drive through or with options to drive out the back. The first floor will have offices, work areas and training room. The second floor will have the crew quarters and mechanical spaces. There will be limited props behind the building for training.

Groundbreaking marked the second phase of construction
Photo by Steven H. Robinson

Construction activity began on July 23, 2018, but it was all behind the old building, predominantly out of sight. The groundbreaking marked the second phase of construction on the new station.

Faced with the challenge of new construction on an occupied site, the department bought a modular building and installed it on the back of the current property. Firefighters moved into that building and will continue to use it during construction. The modular building will be put up for sale and moved off site when construction is complete.

Modular building for firefighters
and apparatus building
Photo by Mike Remarcke

A new storage building was also constructed in the back corner of the property for apparatus storage. It is currently being used for fire apparatus until the new station is complete so that crews can continue to provide critical services to the North City area.

The architect is TCA Architecture, the same firm that designed three other facilities for the department. The contractor is Shreve Construction LLC, which is the same contractor that recently built the new police station at Shoreline City Hall. Anticipated cost for the project is $10,207,000, predominantly paid for by capital bonds.