Columbus' newest firehouse is officially on duty. Station 36 is up and running on the city's fast-growing northeast edge near New Albany, giving the Central College Road corridor a four-bay facility with updated living quarters, modern apparatus space and a built-in tornado shelter. City leaders are pitching it as a key piece in a broader effort to keep emergency response from lagging behind the region's rapid residential and commercial growth.
In a video posted July 7, 2026, the Columbus Division of Fire put the price tag for Station 36 at roughly $25,000,000 and added that "a stronger, safer Columbus requires continued investment in the people and resources that protect our community," according to Columbus Division of Fire. The clip walks viewers through the finished apparatus bays and living spaces and frames the station as a long-term investment in one of the city's fastest-growing areas.
Costs, contractors and completion
City project records list design costs at $1.8 million and construction costs at $21.8 million, with substantial completion recorded in May 2026, per a City of Columbus project fact sheet. The Council later authorized a $21,822,500 construction contract with Elford, Inc., and charged the work to the Safety General Obligations Bond Fund, according to Columbus City Council records.
Where it sits and what it contains
The station sits at 5785 Central College Road, on a site described in project listings as hosting a 30,365-square-foot, four-bay building with a partial basement, mezzanine and tornado shelter, per the city's station listing and project pages. Local construction databases and bid records spell out the same address and detail major project milestones for the new facility, including bid openings and vendor selections.
Funding and city priorities
Earlier coverage and city documentation note that the station was paid for with voter-approved bond dollars and council appropriations as part of a multi-year push to expand public-safety infrastructure, as reported by voter-approved bonds. Columbus' public-affairs channel also lists a press conference marking Station 36's grand opening, where officials emphasized the need for continued investment in personnel and equipment; see the City CTV schedule for the recorded event.
What comes next
Officials say Station 36 should help improve response times and capacity in a growth corridor, but city documents and officials indicate the building is just one piece of ongoing investments in apparatus, staffing and training, per the City of Columbus project fact sheet. Residents can follow the money trail and monitor future capital work through council records and construction updates.
