619 Douglas Avenue

Douglas Avenue Fire House Douglas Avenue Fire House Douglas Avenue Fire House Douglas Avenue Fire House
Rehab of the Historical Fire House Station 5

Design Program: 

The Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety Station 5 was built in 1907, and remained active until the early 1990s as a fire house and public safety offices. The historic fire house, one of three similar structures, is located on the corner of Douglas Avenue and North Street, near the Stuart, North side and Douglas/Fairmont neighborhoods. The iconic building will now serve as a community resource center and house various events held by the Kalamazoo Parks and Recreation Department and the neighborhood associations. The building will provide space for meetings, events, and after-school and summer camp recreation programs.

Byce & Associates, Inc. provided architectural, mechanical, and electrical engineering services to renovate and re-purpose the fire house. The project consisted of updates to the interior and exterior of the building, while maintaining the historical character of the building. The exterior work consisted of replacing the roof and installing new exterior lighting fixtures, window repair, stucco cleaning and repair, and painting.

New historically compatible lighting fixtures were installed in the interior and to the exterior of the building. The existing HVAC system was replaced with a new, historically sensitive system. The historic stucco was repaired to match the existing in texture and color. The historic hayloft door was repaired and secured to be weather tight. The hatch that accommodated the fire man’s pole was left in place to honor the generations of fire fighters from station 5.