The Town of Plaistow, NH has selected Eckman Construction to provide construction management services for the proposed $8.5 million addition and renovation project at the Fitzgerald Public Safety Complex on Elm Street. If approved by voters in March, the project would provide badly needed space for the Plaistow Police Department and Fire Department while bringing the facility in line with current public safety facility regulations. A project website, www.plaistowsafetyproject.com, has been launched to provide the public with information about the issues facing the existing station and details about the proposed project.
“Over the past 30 years, the number of employees in the Plaistow Police and Fire Departments have grown and regulations have become more stringent, yet the Public Safety Complex has largely remained the same,” said Preston Hunter, Vice President, Eckman Construction. “This project will almost double the size of the facility and will offer the Town a more secure and functional space that will serve both the Police and Fire Departments well for decades to come.”
The Plaistow Public Safety Complex project includes a 15,500 square-foot addition which will provide new space for the Police Department. The addition will house a new dispatch center, two sally ports, booking area, evidence storage, holding cells, interview rooms, administrative offices, locker rooms and various support spaces. The area in the existing building that is vacated by the Police Department will be renovated and utilized by the Fire Department.
The $8.5 million project will be presented to Plaistow voters in a warrant article which will be part of a Town Vote in March 2016. The new project will need 60% of the vote to pass. In March of 2015 the proposed Public Safety project, then an $11 million proposed project, narrowly missed on gaining the requisite amount of support.
If the warrant article passes in March 2016, designs will be finalized and construction will begin shortly thereafter. The existing facility will remain open and operational during construction. Architectural services are being provided by Dore & Whittier Architects of Newburyport, MA and Trident Project Advantage Group of Salem, NH is serving as the Owner’s Project Representative.
