AKRON, Ohio -- Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan announced plans yesterday for a new fire station to replace the existing Akron Fire Department Fire Station 4 on the corner of East Thornton and South Main Streets.

The new 37,000-foot Fire Station 4 will house the City Fire Administration and countywide operations, along with regular fire suppression and EMS services.

Horrigan said rebuilding the fire station is critical to uniting all 31 Fire Administration employees under one roof.

"For years, Fire Command has been separated in the CitiCenter building downtown," Horrigan said in a news release. "It was critical to reunite these functions into a fire house setting to ensure the most effective coordination and management of day-to-day operations."

Horrigan said constructing a combined fire station that consolidates offices will allow the city to reduce utilities, maintenance and overhead costs.

The historic CitiCenter building, located at 146 S. High St., will be sold by the city to a private developer for future revitalization.

The city will also sell the old Fire Station 4 property to Rubber City Arches Main and Broadway per a 2014 redevelopment agreement.

The company will use the space to build a McDonald's restaurant with the goal of adding new jobs to the neighborhood and improving 10 nearby developable acres.

The new Fire Station 4 will be located on East Thornton Street between St. Mary's Church and the former Riedinger Middle School.

Construction on the station will be financed through a Development Finance Authority of Summit County bond and will begin after ground is broken on Fire Station 2 in Akron's Middlebury neighborhood.

Costs will be repaid with Issue 4 funds over a period of 20 years.

The new Fire Station 4 will include existing countywide resources, one of four City ladder trucks and Akron's only bariatric unit that assists in the transport and emergency care of severely obese patients.

"Located just south of downtown, Station 4 services the entire county and is the center of operations in critical emergency events," Akron Fire Chief Clarence Tucker said in a news release. "It is essential for the health of the community that Station 4 remains at the forefront of technology and efficiency."

Construction on the new Fire Station 4 is set to be completed by spring of 2020.

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