Cornelius/Lemley Fire Station #1
2008 Preservation Award Winner
Owner: Town of Cornelius
Builder/Developer: Streamline, LLC
Architect: RdM Architecture PA
The Cornelius/Lemley Fire Station No.1 was preserved and expanded by RdM Architecture who was selected to provide a comprehensive architectural and interior design for the replacement of the existing 40-year-old fire station. This expanded station will serve as headquarters to the town’s fire services complete with a new training center and drive through, four bay, double stack apparatus storage.
The new station was built in two phases maintaining 24-hour continuous operation of existing fire services. Originally intended to be a completely new replacement facility and dealing with a program larger than the town’s budget, RdM Architecture proposed the reuse and renovation of the existing 1960’s era station. RdM Architecture successfully integrated the existing facility into the aesthetics of the new construction providing a “green” solution to the budget constraints; saving the town upwards of $600,000.
Project aesthetics were dictated by the resulting reuse of the existing station, the surrounding residential neighborhoods, Main Street commercial activity and the town’s restrictive design covenants.