Mesa to build $12.3M Fire Station as city’s population surges
A $12.3 million fire station is set to rise in southeast Mesa by fall 2026, funded through a voter-approved public safety bond aimed at keeping pace with one of the city’s fastest-growing areas.
Voters approved a public safety bond measure in 2022 totaling $157 million by nearly 70%. The facility for Fire Station 224 is scheduled for completion in fall of 2026 and will be located at the crossroads of 80th Street and Elliot Road.
“It is a rapidly growing area of the city, and we’re seeing a tremendous amount of both industrial and residential growth in the area around 224,” said Mesa City Manager Scott Butler. “That is, without a doubt, our fastest growing area and we’re seeing it in all different forms,” Butler said.
Mesa’s current population is 515,486, according to the World Population Review, but the city of Mesa projected the city’s population to grow to 609,800 by the year 2035, with southeast Mesa neighborhoods showing the highest growth concentrations.
Fire Station 224 construction totaled $12.3 million, according to a city of Mesa press release.
Butler mentioned the announcement of Legacy Park’s planned development as a testament to the population growth, which is expected to be the largest retail and commercial development in the history of the city of Mesa.
Mesa Fire and Medical Chief Mary Cameli said the city allowed the fire department to hire staff for the new station ahead of time, so Fire Station 224 won’t stand idle once finished. She noted that Station 224’s engine is even actively responding to calls at another Mesa station.
The 2022 public safety bond has also funded the expansion of Fire Station 205, one of the closest neighboring firehouses to station 224’s expected location in Mesa. Station 205 will have space to house three emergency vehicles after the renovations are finished instead of the current two.
“The mission of our fire department is to serve with care, compassion, and accountability, respect, and excellence, and our goal is to do that every day, and on every call, and having these stations in these locations allows us to meet the needs of our community,” Cameli reiterated after the Fire Station 224 groundbreaking event.
