IRVINE : Council Approves Westpark Firehouse

Plans to build a $1.9-million fire station in Westpark village near City Hall have received final approval from the City Council.

The station, to be on Barranca Parkway near Jamboree Road, is expected to be completed in September, 1994.

The council last week authorized officials to accept bids for the project, said Ed Rozok, the city’s senior project engineer. City officials hope to select a contractor in the next few months and construction will begin in January.

The 9,800-square-foot facility will be owned by the city and leased to the Orange County Fire Department, which provides fire service to Irvine. The project will be paid for by the city, the county and the Irvine Co., Rozok said.

The fire station site is near Irvine’s imposing Civic Center and a soon-to-be-developed city park. The station will be built in an architectural style similar to the Civic Center complex, which is noted for its stone and marble exterior and rising clock tower.

It will serve Westpark village, one of Irvine’s newest developments.

Earlier this year, the city considered placing a single-room occupancy hotel next to the station. But the council rejected the idea, saying that the land around the station should be reserved for parkland or open space.