Alpharetta is swinging the shovels on a multi‑million‑dollar fire station overhaul, officially breaking ground on a replacement for Fire Station 81 while construction crews are already busy renovating Station 82. City officials say the work is meant to give firefighters modern living quarters, cleaner gear‑handling zones and space for today’s emergency technology, all with an eye on keeping pace with the city’s rapid growth.
City leaders, firefighters and construction partners turned out for a ceremonial groundbreaking for Station 81, which the city says will deliver updated space, technology and resources for emergency crews. Renovations are already underway at Station 82 to bring another aging facility up to current standards. Ajax Building Company is leading construction, with design work handled by Jericho Design Group, according to WSB‑TV.
Where the money is coming from
The city’s FY2024 financial report lists a $4.6 million facilities allocation that specifically names Fire Station 81 renovations along with nearby Webb Bridge Road work. That line item is folded into an FY2025 capital plan of roughly $26.2 million. The report indicates the station work is funded through planned capital spending rather than an emergency appropriation, according to the City of Alpharetta’s FY2024 annual comprehensive financial report.
What's planned at Station 81
Public project listings and bid notices show the Station 81 project includes a roughly 1,700‑square‑foot "clean room" and interior renovations that separate contaminated turnout gear from day‑to‑day living areas. Recent listings put the work at about $2.5 million and locate it on Webb Bridge Road, according to ConstructConnect.
Jericho Design Group describes its work with the city as focused on improving station layouts, building systems and daily workflow in support of a "clean" station model, according to design posts from Jericho Design Group.
Why the upgrades matter
Design features like clean rooms and clean‑cab policies are not just quality‑of‑life perks for firefighters. Research has found elevated cancer incidence and mortality in the profession and has shown how contamination can tag along from the fireground back to the station. A systematic review in the Journal of Occupational Health and evaluations of exposure‑reduction tactics on NCBI/PMC highlight station‑level engineering controls, thorough post‑fire decontamination and separate gear storage as key strategies to cut risk. In Alpharetta’s case, the new station designs are intended to protect both day‑to‑day readiness and long‑term firefighter health.
Next steps and timeline
Public project pages point to pre‑construction and bidding activity running through 2024 and 2025, and officials have not yet published a firm completion date. The work is expected to move in phases so fire coverage stays intact while stations are under construction.
Ajax Building Company, which lists an Alpharetta office, is handling the construction side as the city advances its capital plan, according to company information on Ajax Building Company. The firm is also named as the construction lead on related public project pages on ConstructConnect. Residents can watch city budget documents and local reporting for schedule updates as the work progresses.
