City breaks ground on new N.E. fire station in Cornerstone

City officials were on hand Wednesday at the ceremonial groundbreaking for a new fire station in northeast Calgary.

Phase 1 of the project in Cornerstone will include a $16-million fire station and an accompanying household hazardous waste drop-off.

Fire Chief Steve Dongworth said the fast-growing community is currently served by a temporary fire station in nearby Skyview Ranch.

However, the call volumes have been increasing as the area is building out. In the past five years, call volumes have doubled, he said.

"In 2019, Station 38 responded to 715 calls. In 2023, we responded to almost 1,500 calls," said the chief.

When the new station opens, crews from the temporary station will move in.

He said the Cornerstone station will ensure the Calgary Fire Department can meet targets for response times.

New housing, too

In addition to the fire services at the location, the City of Calgary intends to oversee the development of affordable housing on land adjoining the fire hall.

It's part of the city's strategy for multi-service developments at civic facility sites.

The city says integrated planning helps to reduce overall municipal costs by co-locating more than one service at a particular site.

However, there isn't a timeline yet for the housing development.

Mayor Jyoti Gondek said the city is still playing catch-up in terms of its developments at such sites because, in the past, individual departments worked on their end of the projects separately.

"All of the integrated pieces weren't integrated at budget. That's why you see a little bit of a lag right now on the affordable housing component of this site," said Gondek.

The mayor said she believes the Cornerstone site is an ideal one for affordable housing.

"I think this site would probably be one that we would want to prioritize to make sure that we can get funding invested into delivering on affordable housing, especially considering the housing strategy right now," said Gondek. 

"Absolutely, we would be looking for a partner that would help us bring on non-profit housing."

The two-bay fire station is scheduled to open in the spring of 2025.