Construction should be complete on the new Fire Station 21, at the corner of North 73rd Street and Greenwood Avenue North, near the end of September, according to Project Manager Rich Hennings.

Fire Station 21 on Aug. 4, 2011. The windows with the huge fire deparment logo had just been installed.

Hennings said the “Defenders of Greenwood” should move from the temporary station five blocks south into their new headquarters sometime in early October, after the new building’s systems have been tested.

The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) has changed its mind about upgrading the traffic signal at Greenwood Avenue North and NW 73rd St. after being contacted by concerned neighbors.

Last week, we told you that SDOT was upgrading traffic signals at three neighborhood intersections. The intersection of Greenwood and 73rd has long had a traffic light on Greenwood Avenue North, and a stop sign on North 73rd St.

Looking east from North 73rd Street across Greenwood Avenue North. The new Fire Station 21, under construction, is on the left.

While motorists heading east or west on North 73rd St. can get frustrated at having to wait for a pedestrian to hit the walk light to be able to cross or turn onto Greenwood Avenue, many homeowners along North 73rd Street didn’t want a full signal because they feared it would turn North 73rd Street into a busy arterial street.

After neighbors contacted SDOT with their concerns, SDOT staffers tried to come up with a solution that balanced the needs of the fire department with the community.

Thank you for your interest in the proposed signal change at fire station 21 at the intersection of Greenwood Avenue North and North 73rd Street.

The new fire station 21 is under construction, and the new building will be closer to the sidewalk of Greenwood Ave N. The fire trucks will have to use part of the street to back into the station when they return from call-out duties.

In order to keep the fire trucks and general traffic operation safety, SDOT considered several options for a fire signal to stop traffic while fire trucks maneuver into the station. One of the options was to upgrade the existing pedestrian signal at Greenwood Ave N and N 73rd St to a full traffic signal. Considering N 73rd St is a narrow residential street, and a full traffic signal may potentially attract more traffic to N 73rd, we decided this option will not suit the community needs and have dropped it from the plans.

The option that we are implementing is to install a fire signal at Greenwood Ave N, just north of the fire station. This fire signal will be only respond when a fire truck is detected. The existing pedestrian signal at N Greenwood and N 73rd St will be the same, not rebuild as a full traffic signal. This option will not affect traffic on N 73rd St.

Thanks again for your time to contact SDOT, and please let us know if you have any further concerns.

SDOT tells me that the fire signal will be installed right where the alley is between the fire station and Carmelita restaurant. It will be operational about the same time the fire station is completed, which is currently scheduled for about mid-August.

The scaffolding for the rebuilding of Fire Station 21 went up really fast over the last few days. Here’s a shot from early this morning.

Station 21 is temporarily located five blocks south on the corner of Greenwood Avenue North and North 68th Street.

Most of the old Fire Station 21 at Greenwood Avenue North and North 73rd Street has been demolished, but demo crews still have a ways to go.

Project Manager Rich Hennings says demolition will continue on the fire station for at least another week, maybe two, before crews can demolish the adjacent house to the east of the station. The first floor of the station is now gone, but the basement/crawl space still needs to come down.

Here’s what the site looked like Wednesday morning.

That basement used to contain a mechanical room and a weight room, covered with a thick concrete slab.

“The slab is very strong,” Hennings said. “There’s a lot of concrete in there. It will take them well into next week and probably into the next.”

Instead of just throwing away all the material, most of it is being recycled. “We are looking at over 90 percent recycled material,” Hennings said.

This morning we saw one worker sorting bricks into a big pile.

Hennings said the only material so far that hasn’t been recycled was some lead and asbestos from the roof. Wood is being turned into power-generating fuel or particle board, the steel is being melted down into new steel, and the bricks are being ground up and used for road base under concrete or asphalt.

Crews are working weekdays from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and they’ll be making quite a bit of noise as they jackhammer the concrete.

“It’s hard to take down concrete without making noise, (but) if somebody hears a jackhammer at 6:50 in the morning, I need to know about it,” Hennings said.

The adjacent house will come down sometime around Sept. 17, although Hennings said it might be a few days later than that. Weather isn’t too much of an issue for crews. In fact, a light rain is helpful in keeping the dust down.

After demolition is complete, crews will grade the site and then excavate for the building footings, and install culverts for storm water.

They’ll be stockpiling as much dirt as possible for back fill.

“It’s very difficult to store our material on a site that that’s small. But wherever they can they’ll be stockpiling materials for after the back fill is in place.”

Crews started demolishing the old Fire Station 21 this week, to make way for the new two-story station. Here’s what the site looked like early Friday morning.

And this was the site at 12 p.m.

James, one of the equipment operators from Maclin Enterprises, told us they would be recycling more than 80 percent of the old station’s materials – with a goal of 90 percent or more. The metal will be ground up and shipped overseas to be turned into new metal products, old brick will become roadbed, and the wood used as fuel.

The house directly to the east of the station will be torn down next week as part of the new station’s expansion plans.

Construction on the new station will take about a year. Meanwhile, the Defenders of Greenwood are operating out of industrial trailers and a tent five blocks south, at North 68th Street and Greenwood Avenue North.

The old Fire Station 21 at Greenwood Avenue North and North 73rd Street is coming down.

The Defenders of Greenwood moved five blocks south to the corner of Greenwood and North 68th Street, where they are currently living in industrial trailers, and Engine 21 is housed in a heavy-duty tent.

The old fire station will be rebuilt on the original site. Construction on the two-story station is expected to take about a year.

(Rendering courtesy Miller Hull Partnership.)

The moving van is parked in the bay where Engine 21 normally sits, as the movers from Atlas Van Lines prepare to move everything out of the old Fire Station 21 and into its new temporary location five blocks south.

The temporary station at 6802 Greenwood Ave. N. has two large trailers for firefighters and a large tent for Engine 21.

The old station will be demolished and replaced by a new two-story, 8,576-square-foot station with more space for the firefighters and their equipment.

(Rendering courtesy Miller Hull Partnership.)

Tomorrow is moving day for the Defenders of Greenwood. Fire Station 21 is officially moving from 7304 Greenwood Ave. N. to 6802 Greenwood Ave. N. around 9 a.m. Tuesday.

Firefighters will spend about one year working out of the temporary space, with trailers for living quarters and a large tent for Engine 21.

Project Manager Rich Hennings says the firefighters getting off their 24-hour shift Tuesday morning will bring their gear over to the new fire station. Professional movers will move the rest. Hennings says Engine 21 may be out of service very briefly during the changeover, but nearby stations would cover it. “For the most part they pretty much stay in service,” Hennings said.

The chain link fence will remain around the temporary site for security. A wireless doorbell on the gate is available for anyone needing to contact the firefighters. They will still be available for routine blood pressure checks.

As for the old station, old fuel tanks need to be taken out before construction begins. Some of the building will be salvaged by Second Use. A fence will go up around the old site probably next week as work begins. The old station will be demolished and replaced by a 8,576-square-foot, two-story station with more space for firefighters and their equipment.

Construction has begun on the temporary site of Fire Station 21 at the corner of Greenwood Avenue North and North 68th Street.

Fire fighters and all their trucks and equipment will be housed in industrial tents and trailers while the current Station 21 at Greenwood Avenue North and NW 73rd Street is demolished and rebuilt.

The timeline for the demolition and rebuilding of Fire Station 21 at the corner of Greenwood Avenue North and North 73rd Street is a bit behind, but we’ve just been told by the city that construction bids will be opened next Wednesday.

As we’ve previously reported, the Defenders of Greenwood will move five blocks down to the empty lot at 6802 Greenwood Ave. N., while their current station is demolished and rebuilt. The new Station 21 will be 8,576 square feet over two stories, and will include more spacious living quarters and offices for the firefighters, as well as more room for equipment. A small parcel of property was purchased directly east of the current station to accomodate the larger building.

Here’s a rendering of what the new station will look like. It was designed by the Miller Hull Partnership.

During constructions, firefighters and their equipment will be housed in trailers and industrial tents. Construction is expected to last about a year. Here’s what that empty lot looks like now.