Syracuse Common Council members approved a $5.7 million project on Monday to transform part of Dunk & Bright’s furniture showroom into a new repair facility for the Syracuse Fire Department.
Deputy Commissioner of Asset Management and Valuation Michael Lehmann called for the approval of a string of resolutions authorizing a 25,000 sq. ft portion of the showroom to be converted into the fire department’s new main garage, just in time for impending winter weather.
A few weeks prior, Chief Michael Monds told Syracuse lawmakers he hoped to have an agreement on their agenda soon after engineers called for the immediate condemnation of their maintenance facility on State Fair Blvd. Fire personnel discovered cracks in the facility’s floor a year prior.
On July 18th, “a fire apparatus lift jack broke through that slab, revealing severe structural damage," Monds said. "So, at that point, city engineering and C&S [Companies] declared the floor unsafe for vehicles, lifts, and any other heavy loads. It also restricted foot traffic in certain areas of that floor.”
The damage left the fire department without a functioning repair garage, pushing them to rely on tents and warm weather to complete the repairs outside. Engineers were assessing the cost of replacing and expanding the current facility, which could take anywhere from two to five years. Now by late spring, the $5.7 million project is expected to be in full operation.