DEVENS — On Tuesday, MassDevelopment hosted federal, state, and military leaders for a walk-through of the future Devens public safety building, a $20.8 million state-of-the-art facility that will bring all local public safety operations under one roof.
Celebrating the ground breaking in October, the project is expected to be complete by the summer of 2025 and will create one facility to house the Nashoba Valley Regional Dispatch District, the Devens Fire Department, and the State Police, which is contracted to provide police services to Devens.
State and U.S. Legislators, MassDevelopment officials and Devens Reserve Forces Training Area officials attended the walk-through on Tuesday.
“It was a pleasure to show our federal, state, and military leaders the progress already underway at the site of the new Devens public safety building,” said MassDevelopment President and CEO Dan Rivera. “This facility looks to the future of Devens by bringing all of our first responders under one roof and delivering improved public safety services for our residents, employers, workforce, and visitors.”
MassDevelopment will be converting a partially-vacant, agency-owned building at 270 Barnum Road into a state-of-the-art public safety center for the Devens area, which the quasi-public agency was charged with developing into a mixed-use community in a way that stimulated the local and state economy.
“Devens is the premier driver of economic growth and vitality in North Central,” said state Sen. John Cronin. “The new Public Safety Building will ensure that Devens has the resources it needs to grow responsibly and continue to create opportunity for the region.”
The building previously housed a day care facility and private elementary school and has been partially vacant since 2019. Nashoba Valley Regional Dispatch District, which serves Devens and five other communities, currently occupies a small portion of the existing building.
Once complete, the new 30,745-square-foot full-service public safety building includes features such as a new apparatus bay to house fire and ambulance vehicles, modern living spaces for firefighters and an exterior tower to provide more opportunity for regular training exercises.
“The new Devens Public Safety Building represents an incredible investment in the safety of Devens and communities across the Nashoba Valley,” said U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan. “I’m proud of the $4.6 million federal Defense Community Infrastructure Pilot Program investment that helped make this MassDevelopment project possible.”
The new building will also feature solar panels and electric charging stations to help reduce the environmental footprint.
The current fire station at 182 Jackson Road was built in 1965, and an addition was built by the U.S. Army in 1987 to accommodate larger fire apparatus. Yet, the building is too small to meet the needs of the current fire department, with several pieces of firefighting apparatus and equipment stored outdoors or at other locations in the community due to space constraints within the building.
Other participants included state Rep. Dan Sena, a representative from Trahan’s office, Devens Reserve Forces Training Area official Keith Jackson, and staff from MassDevelopment’s Devens Operations and Real Estate divisions.
MassDevelopment is converting a partially vacant agency-owned building at 270 Barnum Road into a state-of-the-art facility that will house the Devens Fire Department, the Massachusetts State Police, who provide police services in Devens under a contract with the agency, and the Nashoba Valley Regional Dispatch District under one roof.
MassDevelopment, the state’s development finance agency and land bank, works with businesses, nonprofits, banks, and communities to stimulate economic growth across the state. During fiscal 2023, MassDevelopment financed or managed 545 projects.
(Courtesy MassDevelopment)