As La Crosse to break ground on $4.4 million firehouse, as old station goes on the market

La Crosse’s fire department will break ground Thursday for a new $4.4 million fire station on Gillette Street.

It will be built next door to the existing firehouse that’s over 80 years old.

Meanwhile, the city is starting the process of selling that old firehouse and its lot.

City planner Andrea Trane said the history of Fire Station No. 4 may help bring in development money for potential buyers.

“This property was nominated and accepted to be on the local register of historic places,” Trane told the Economic and Community Development Commission on Wednesday. “That should help if they do want to get historic tax credits through the national level, that would allow them to help on some of the cost of the development of that property.”

The La Crosse city council recently declared the old fire station to be surplus land that could be offered for sale.

“The fire department will not need that property, once they have the new fire station up and running, which they expect to be sometime late summer, early fall of 2024,” Trane said.

The groundbreaking for the new Station No. 4 is scheduled for 4 p.m.

Last month, the fire department finished building station No. 2 near UW-La Crosse, which cost $7.2 million.