Construction will soon begin Conroe's $4.7 million east side fire station after the City Council on July 10, 2025, OK'd a popular construction contract method, houstonchronicle.com reported.
The council approved a design-build method for the project. That gave the Houston-based SLI Group, which designed the project, responsibility for construction as well.
Earlier in 2025, the council approved the station design with SLI Group — a year after it delayed the project because of cost. The council originally approved the project in 2021 as part of the city's Capital Improvement Plan.
Fire Chief Paul Sims said the station at 676 Farm-to-Market 3083, would be completed in mid-2026, according to houstonchronicle.com.
The proposed cost of the new fire station jumped to $7.2 million in 2024 from $5.5 million in 2022 — a total based on the cost to complete Fire Station No. 7 on Longmire Road in 2018. The design of Station No. 8 will be like that of No. 7.
Councilman David Hairel asked whether potential change orders could cause the cost to jump again, according to houstonchronicle.com.
SLI Group's Brett Lucksinger said the price won't likely change, according to houstonchronicle.com.
"The numbers that we have right now, almost everything has been bid," Lucksinger said. "I don't anticipate anything coming back that would be a problem."
Sims said that with the new design, the station's footprint will remain the same as originally designed, although the interior was redesigned to save money. He said the station will feature six dormitories, a kitchen, storage and three truck bays, according to houstonchronicle.com.
"At the very minimum, there will be three (fire trucks) and likely at different times, there will be a fourth truck from a reserve standpoint," Sims said. "We are out of space at other fire stations, and we have as many as five or six reserve apparatus."
Councilman Harry Hardman said the efforts to reduce costs and the "thoughtfulness" put into the design will be helpful for future fire station projects, houstonchronicle.com reported.
"(The fire station) is something we all wanted and now it is something we can afford," Hardman said. "I'm sure this is something we can replicate moving forward."
