Dallas County EMS is set to break ground on a new Adel station on Tuesday, Nov. 17, at 1 p.m., marking the start of construction on a roughly $7 million facility near 415 River St. The station will replace the agency's current quarters and is expected to be finished by July 2027.
The ceremony will be held near the former offices of the Dallas County Secondary Roads Department, on the east side of Adel between U.S. Highway 6 and the Raccoon River Valley Trail, according to The Perry News. Dallas County EMS is organizing the event alongside Turner Construction and Farnsworth Group Architectural Firm, the two companies handling construction and design on the project. County officials and project partners are expected to give brief remarks before turning the first shovelsful of dirt, and visual renderings of the finished facility will be on display at the site.
What the New Station Will Include
The new Adel-based station is budgeted at about $7 million and is being financed with Series 2026 Local Option Sales and Service Tax revenue bonds, per the same report. At 10,270 square feet, the building will include three drive-through ambulance bays plus a fourth bay reserved for a rapid-response vehicle.
Planned amenities go well beyond vehicle storage. The station is designed to include six sleeping rooms, locker and shower rooms, a fitness room, a report room, a kitchen and dining area, a dayroom, two offices, a training room and a storm shelter, according to the same account from the outlet.
Budget Figures Have Shifted Over the Past Year
The $7 million figure announced for the groundbreaking represents a jump from earlier public estimates. In November 2025, an official identified as Tietz told The Des Moines Register that there was no firm budget yet but that estimates then stood at $5.6 million, with the county possibly issuing bonds backed by Local Option Sales Tax revenue. By April 2026, Turner Construction had presented a 20% construction-document budget estimate of $6,933,104 for the project, as reported by Citizen Portal.
That same April 2026 report indicated Turner Construction had outlined a July 2026 field start with substantial completion projected for mid-2027, figures that differ from the Nov. 17, 2026 groundbreaking and July 2027 completion date now cited by Dallas County EMS. Construction spending has continued in recent months regardless: in October, the Dallas County Board of Supervisors approved a $135,186.47 pay application for Turner Construction's work on the Adel EMS station, according to Citizen Portal's reporting.
Current Operations Will Continue Nearby
Until the new building opens, Dallas County EMS will keep running out of its current Adel station at 512 Nile Kinnick Drive S. Ambulances and paramedics will also continue operating out of the Perry station near Dallas County Hospital throughout construction. EMS operations are expected to move into the new Adel facility once the project wraps up in July 2027.
Dallas County EMS serves a growing community and responds to roughly 3,300 calls a year, according to a county ambulance-billing request for proposal published by Dallas County, Iowa. Anyone planning to attend the Tuesday, Nov. 17, groundbreaking should expect limited parking near the ceremony site, though on-street parking will be available in the surrounding area.
