It may not look like much right now, but the shared emergency services facility in Chestnuthill Township is progressing. Construction of the building will start in 2024.

“The land development is always a lot of work,” said Dave Albright, the business manager for Chestnuthill Township.

The project broke ground on June 20, 2023, and site work has been the mainstay since then.

Albright explained that over the last six months, a stormwater basin has been completed, the septic system was installed, the foundation has been installed, and two large shafts have been constructed for the elevator and stair tower.

Workers have also finished the trenching for the underground utilities, brought in the structural steel for the building, and completed access to the site off Route 715. The access had to be wide enough for fire trucks to easily maneuver, he said.

The new 6.5-acre site is across from the West End Fire House Company Station 43. It is designed to be an all-in-one facility for the West End fire company, West End Community Ambulance Association, and the Regional West End Emergency Operations Center.

The operations center serves Chestnuthill, Eldred, Ross, Jackson, Polk and Hamilton townships. The center also will be a backup location for the Monroe County Control Center and the Monroe County Office of Emergency Management.

“In general, we’re keeping everything on schedule,” Albright said. “We hope to have everything done by late next fall.”

Albright said he thinks that once the beams start going up for the walls, then people will be able to see that work really is moving along.

When completed, the building will be 19,598 square feet with 13,630 square feet dedicated the township’s emergency operations.

There have been some supply chain delays, but not extensive, Albright said. There have also been some additional costs.

“You have to budget for some unexpected costs, but everything is within the budget,” he said.

The project was expected to cost about $11 million. Bracy Construction is doing the general construction. K.C. Mechanical is handling the plumbing. Heating and air conditioning is being done by Hosler Enterprise, and Wind Gap Electric Inc. is doing the electrical construction.