Grand County EMS has traded in a World War II-era Quonset hut for a brand-new headquarters in Granby, closing the book on 56 years spent working out of the old metal structure. The new Station 1 sits next to Middle Park Health and includes an expanded ambulance bay, an in-house mechanic shop, 10 bunk rooms and community spaces designed to double as emergency shelter during an evacuation.
The original Quonset hut was added to Grand County EMS back in 1970, according to skyhinews.com. The new facility, built after 18 months of construction at 700 Granby Park Drive South, replaces that decades-old station and was completed on time and under budget, though the outlet reports the final project cost has not been released.
Colorado Department of Local Affairs Northern Mountains Regional Manager Kate Peacock spoke at the recent grand opening ceremony for the station, according to the Colorado Department of Local Affairs on Facebook. Peacock said DOLA helps communities turn important local priorities into reality, and added that the facility investment supports emergency responders who help residents and visitors. She also said the project invests in emergency services, safety, resilience and Grand County's future, per the same Facebook post. Grand County, along with the county commissioners, Manager Moyer, Chief Wingate and the EMS team, received congratulations in that post.
What's Inside the New Building
The new bay doors can accommodate any EMS vehicle, giving the department indoor space it didn't have before, the station's report notes. The bay area also includes an in-house mechanic and shop for maintaining EMS and sheriff's vehicles, and a vehicle-wash system that recycles water for reuse. There are now 10 bunk rooms where EMS crews sleep while on duty, twice the number of official sleeping bunks the old station offered.
Residents and officials can rent the facility's multipurpose rooms for meetings or community events, the report adds. Those same community spaces were also designed to shelter residents in the event of an emergency evacuation, giving Grand County a dual-use space that serves both everyday gatherings and worst-case scenarios.
Funding Figures Vary Across Reports
Exactly how the project was financed is murkier. Skyhinews.com reported that certificates of participation proceeds and bonds provided approximately $25.2 million combined toward construction. Separately, the Colorado Department of Local Affairs says it supported the project with almost $1.85 million through its Energy and Mineral Impact Assistance Fund Climate Resilience Challenge initiative, which according to the Colorado Department of Local Affairs assists political subdivisions socially or economically impacted by mineral and mineral-fuel development.
Other reporting has cited different DOLA grant figures tied to the project, including roughly $1.8 million and $1,842,870, according to citizenportal.ai, while a separate account from the same outlet described the funding package as including an approximately $800,000 DOLA grant alongside EMS contributions and certificate-of-participation debt service. It remains unclear whether these figures reflect separate awards or inconsistent reporting of the same grant.
Years in the Making
The project had been in the works for years before breaking ground. Grand County had planned to replace its downtown Granby EMS headquarters with a new station along 10 Mile Drive next to Middle Park Health, and construction had advanced to site work and concrete pours by October 2025, with a schedule eyeing occupancy roughly a year later. Grand County voters helped set the project in motion back in 2021, approving a 1.75 mill levy increase for EMS to support operational and capital needs.
Grand County EMS currently operates four stations across the county, located in Fraser, Granby, Grand Lake and Kremmling, according to the Grand County government. The agency responds to medical emergencies countywide 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and relies on 41 paid, full-time staff members working rotating shifts around the clock to keep that coverage running.
