Northlake’s new Fire Station 512, planned to be built at the corner of I-35W and Dale Earnhardt Way, ran into unexpected problems that led to construction delays, Denton County Emergency Services District No. 1 and 2 Chief Ricky Vaughan said on Friday.
According to Vaughan, the manufacturer of the building, based in Canada, hasn’t built in Texas before, so they had to get certified by the state before going through a review process.
The manufacturer has since been certified and the department recently got word that the state approved the station’s 730-page design plan.
Now, Vaughan said the state has to come out and do a site inspection before construction can start.
“The [state] has a process they have to follow, but the delays have been because of extra steps the manufacturer had to do in order to become certified with the state,” he said.
The new station broke ground in February with plans to be completed by summer 2025.
“Ironically, we were doing this to increase speed,” said Vaughan. “For cost savings, as well, but obviously the speed has not turned out like we thought because of some things we didn’t foresee.”
Vaughan now expects construction to be completed in April or May of 2026.
The new station is an innovative “modular design” as a permanent structure with a lifespan of 40-50 years.
“Challenges come with being innovative and trying something different,” said Vaughan. “And since it is innovative, it had to be approved by the State of Texas. The state has been working diligently to get everything done, it’s just taking a little longer than we thought.”
Vaughan expects the innovation to help with overall costs for the department in the long run.
Right now, the project is expected to cost $5.6 million, but tariffs under the Trump Administration have put the actual cost in limbo since the manufacturer is Canadian.
“When we planned all this, we didn’t know about the tariffs,” said Vaughan. “We’re planning for that now, but we’re hoping to get some relief since it’s public safety infrastructure.”
If the parts are purchased after tariffs have been repealed, there won’t be any extra costs, but Vaughan said they’ll have to wait and see when the parts come in.
“It’s a fluid situation and we’re just monitoring it,” he said. “So, if we have to pay for it, we’ll work something out to cover it or see if the manufacturer will help, but we’ll come to terms at that time.”
This will be the fourth fire station operated by Denton County ESD, which protects more than 45,000 citizens across 65 square miles, including Argyle, Bartonville, Copper Canyon, Corral City, Lantana, Northlake and surrounding extraterritorial jurisdictions in Denton County.
