The city is replacing its aged fire stations with two new buildings, and broke ground Tuesday on the first project — the new headquarters in south Sanford. A second district station is planned to be built on Payne Street in Springvale, starting in March 2027.
The city of Sanford is replacing its aged fire stations with two new buildings, and broke ground Tuesday on the first project — the new headquarters in south Sanford.
The site, at 1280 Main St., was
previously home to Courtney Cleaners and Springvale Nurseries.
A second district station is planned to be built at 10 Payne St, in Springvale, on the site of the Notre Dame church buildings, starting in 2027.
The new stations are designed to address longstanding deficiencies in Sanford’s current facilities, which are each more than 50 years old, and no longer meet safety and accessibility standards.
The new builds are expected to enhance response times, support regional mutual aid, expand training capacity, enable a Community Paramedicine program, improve energy efficiency and improve firefighter safety.
The 37,770-square-foot headquarters on Sanford’s Main Street is pegged for completion later this year. The planned 17,395-square-foot Springvale sub-station is projected to be built starting in spring 2027.
Benchmark Construction, based in Westbrook, is the contractor selected for the first build. WBRC Inc., with offices in Portland and Bangor, and Mitchell Associates, based in Portland, are handling design.
The city recently won $5 million in federal funding for the projects as part of this year’s Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations bill passed by Congress in February.
Voters approved a $42.5 million bond for the projects in November 2024, and back in 2022 used $585,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funds to purchase one of the new sites — 1280 Main St. An allocation of $168,000 in city funds went toward architectural design work in 2024.
At Tuesday’s groundbreaking, Sanford officials thanked U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee, for her role in securing federal support for the projects. (Collins is running for reelection in November.)
