According to a report from Journal Star, despite a revision to a purchase agreement for property in Pekin, Illinois, will not affect the completion date of a new fire station that will be built at 1104 Sheridan Road.
Pekin Fire Department (PFD) Chief Trent Reeise said he expects the station’s bidding process on Sheridan Road, at the corner of Broadway Street and Ironwood Drive, will begin this fall, with a groundbreaking taking place next spring. Both new stations could be operational by the spring of 2024.
Pekin City Attorney Kate Swise said the town’s council approved the purchase of the Sheridan Road property in March for $475,000 plus exchange and lease-back of property at 1000 14th Street in Pekin from property owner David Milam.
Under July’s revised agreement, the total purchase price was for $657,000, which includes a $200,000 deferred purchase price secured by a mortgage on the Sheridan Road property. It will be repaid through the conveyance to Milam of the 14th Street property.
Reeise also said the 14th Street station will be decommissioned after the Sheridan Road station becomes operational. Although a site has not yet been determined, the city is now planning to add a fourth station on the south end of town. Reeise said the fire station project was long overdue, with PFD’s two current stations being built in 1962 and the third, at 3232 Court Street, built in 1976.