Rendering of new fire station and Pownalborough Hall from South

Rendering of new fire station and Pownalborough Hall from North

CONSTRUCTION TO BEGIN ON NEW FIRE STATION, RENOVATIONS TO POWNALBOROUGH HALL

March 2009 – Dresden’s Board of Selectmen last August  chose the team of Lajoie Bros., Inc., general contractors of Augusta (http://www.lajoiebros.com) , and Whipple-Callender Architects of Portland (http://www.whipplecallender.com) to design and construct the new four double-bay fire station at Pownalborough and to make exterior renovations to Pownalborough Hall.  This team was selected from 12 teams which submitted letters of interest, of which four were interviewed by an advisory committee working with the selectmen.

The team worked for several weeks with the Selectmen on what is known as a design-build method of construction.  This means that, starting with a general concept of the new station as approved at town meeting last year, the team and the Selectmen came up with a final design in all its details.  The benefit of this method of construction is that it can save time by allowing basic construction to begin even before all the details of the design have been finalized.  It is also often a less expensive method, and it gives the town more control over the end product.

Work on the foundation for the new structure will begin this spring.   The Selectmen have set a deadline for a September 2009 completion.