Gainesville constructing new fire stations to meet growing demand
Published on April 17, 2026
Construction is set to begin on two major public safety projects that will strengthen fire and emergency response across the City of Gainesville.
During the evening session of the Thursday, April 16 regular meeting, the Gainesville City Commission received project updates and approved guaranteed maximum price agreements for sitework construction at Fire Station #3 in northeast Gainesville and Fire Station #9 at the site of the future Southwest Public Safety Center.
Both station designs reflect current best practices, with space for modern trucks and equipment, improved living quarters to support 24-hour shifts, and infrastructure that allows crews to train, recover and return to service without delay.
“We’re building for the Gainesville we know is coming,” said Interim City Manager Andrew Persons. “This is about putting the right resources in the right places so our response system stays strong as the city grows.”
Construction of Fire Station #3 is expected to begin in late May, with the facility relocating from its original site at 900 NE Waldo Road to front NE Eighth Avenue between NE 14th Street and NE 13th Street. The new station will be 17,000 square feet and, with three truck bays, will serve northeast Gainesville’s established neighborhoods and surrounding areas with strengthened emergency response, training and daily operations.
Fire Station #9—currently a modular building at 4213 SW 30th Avenue—will relocate to the Southwest Public Safety Center, a joint facility going up near Archer Road and Interstate 75. The station will have four truck bays and a separate area for Public Works, along with a community room for public workshops and other gatherings. The project strategically assigns additional staff and resources to serve southwest Gainesville and provides an expanded capacity for emergency response.
“It’s crucial that our firefighters keep up with the demand we’re seeing every day,” said Gainesville Fire Chief Shawn Hillhouse. “These new stations give us the space and positioning we need to respond quickly and effectively across every sector of the city.”
This progress comes as Gainesville Fire Rescue (GFR) continues to see sustained demand across the community, responding to more than 29,000 calls for service each year and averaging hundreds of calls each week. The majority are for medical emergencies, reflecting the department’s growing role not only in fire suppression but in frontline healthcare. These high-acuity incidents often require advanced life support and rapid intervention, and the new stations are expected to lower response times, improve outcomes and expand GFR’s ability to assist partner agencies in the field.
The agreements that city commissioners approved set a maximum construction price of $2,030,207 for Fire Station #3 and $3,989,480 for Fire Station #9. They cover the site work associated with the stations; future agreements will be considered for the building components.
The projects have received grant support from Alachua County and are primarily funded by Streets, Stations and Strong Foundations, the half-cent infrastructure surtax approved by Alachua County voters to support road repair, fire stations and public facilities and affordable housing.