Renovations at Cambridge’s Fire Department Headquarters got a ceremonial kickoff Tuesday with the city manager and other officials. The $77 million project remains on track for a reopening in late 2025 or early 2026, according to a city timeline.
It’s the first serious work the brick structure has received since its unveiling in 1932, and before the start of the groundbreaking, acting fire chief Thomas Cahill recalled some features of the aging building he will not miss.
“Every side of the building, you had garden hoses hanging out of the windows because the roofs and the ceilings leaked,” Cahill said, describing a make-do funnel system that kept rain from seeping in. “Even on a day like today, we’re at 75, 80 degrees, you’d walk in in the morning and see the hoses and know that if it starts raining, we’re prepared. There was always that reminder as you approach the building.”
Another reminder was inside: The lockers used by firefighters were the originals from almost 90 years ago. “There was nothing that had been updated ever in this building,” Cahill said.
When the work is done, the headquarters will have a new data center for emergency communications, energy-producing solar panels and 17 geothermal wells, a power substation to support an all-electric building – including charging stations for all-electric vehicles – as well as a system to decontaminate gear from hazardous materials and updates to dormitories and kitchen and fitness facilities. It will all be packed into a historically preserved shell, visible mainly in the refreshed look and rooftop solar arrays.
“We’re excited to have this class-one firehouse going in and to build it to the best standards that we can give to our firefighters,” said Brendon Roy, the city’s director of capital building projects.
There are other communities with recent fire headquarter upgrades – Medford, Braintree, Quincy, Dedham – and similar missions of modernization. “I don’t think there’s any comparisons to the complexity that we have in Cambridge, specifically this site and its historic building,” Roy said. The placement at 491 Broadway is in a peculiar junction with Cambridge Street, which means there is traffic whipping past on each side as cars head east from Harvard Square or pass by on the way to North Cambridge. On this small triangle is 24,670 square feet housing the fire department’s Engine 1, Ladder 1 and Rescue 1, as well as administrative offices, the city’s fire prevention bureau and technical services division.
Construction has to align the needs of the new building with city laws on energy use and other building requirements. “When you pull all that together, this is a unique building,” Roy said.
“It holds a lot, and it’s been neglected for so long. I’ve watched in my 30 years just Band-Aid put on top of Band-Aid put on top of Band-Aid. I understand everyone’s skepticism when they see the $77 million budget, but it’s also a testament to maintaining property over the years, rather than waiting 100 years to address them,” Cahill said. “It’s important for the firefighters and shows a commitment by the city to improve these buildings and bring them up to modern levels. And it means a lot to me as the chief and my administration. It’s just been a long time coming.”
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This renovation, assuming it is coming in on budget is $3000 per square foot? Probably a result of a requirement to retain the historical elements while making substantial improvements
the expense comes more from the LEED, Net Zero, climate change mandates.
I’m somewhat confused by this story (not to mention the price tag, even with a leaky roof and old lockers). The headline describes a ground-breaking ceremony. However, work has been underway for months, and the photo shows quite a bit of well-broken ground. Explain the disconnect.
It’s a ceremony.
When one usually sees pictures of a ground-breaking, there’s a line of dignitaries holding shovels and symbolically scooping dirt at the very start of the project. I’m curious why this CEREMONY wasn’t held then rather than when it was well underway. I’m not really expecting an answer; I’m just saying it seems like unusual timing for such a gobsmacking big project.
The symbolic scooping of dirt took place during this event. I’m sure there are photos available.
The Star Market in Porter Square is having a “grand reopening” for a store that never closed but has seen some refurbishing. These are just ceremonies that are held at the convenience of the people involved. Most big construction projects later hold a “topping off” ceremony when a final beam is place – but the project is far from done at that moment. These are just ceremonies.