Ground was broken Sept. 30 on a fire station within the Springwoods Village master-planned community that will house the Spring Fire Department and Cypress Creek EMS and could serve 50,000 residents and employees upon the completion of the development.
"With the first residents and employees living and working in Springwoods Village, providing emergency services is an important part of creating a complete community," said Keith Simon, executive vice president of Coventry Development Corporation, the Springwoods Village developer. "[CCEMS] and the [SFD] have been serving the community for decades and we are looking forward to working with them to keep our residents and workers safe."
The nearly 20,000-square-foot Fire Station No. 79 will be located at 22306 Springwoods Village Parkway and house five apparatus bays, living quarters, conference room, work rooms, decontamination room, turn-out gear room and a physical wellness area.
The nearly 5,000-square-foot CCEMS 513 station, located at 22310 Springwoods Village Parkway, will feature two double-deep ambulance bays, living quarters, work room and storage areas.
The stations are expected to be completed in September 2015, according to the developer and emergency service providers. Officials said funding for the stations came from Emergency Service Districts 7 and 11.
"Station [No.] 79 will be the ninth strategically placed fire station in the rapidly growing Spring community and the fourth new fire station added since 2007," said Eric Anderson, fire chief for the Spring Volunteer Fire Department. "The new station will house vital equipment and personnel, paid and volunteer, needed to protect those that work, visit or live within the Springwoods Village community and surrounding areas."
Holly Pichette, community relations officer for CCEMS, said the emergency services provider will house one ambulance at the station when it is completed with at least two scheduled employees at all times as well as occasional volunteers and students.
Pichette said the EMS station will service only Springwoods Village, but that the area was still growing and the serviced population could reach as high as 50,000 people. Although she said construction continues on the roads and infrastructure within Springwoods Village, Pichette said she feels confident CCEMS can provide the department's average response time—7 minutes and 58 seconds—to the community.
"I think that's why that area was picked, to cater to that community of North Harris County and the Spring area," she said. "It's [a] pretty condensed [community]."
Located near the intersection of I-45 and the Hardy Toll Road, the 1,800-acre Springwoods Village will have a population of about 15,000 people and will accommodate as many as 35,000-45,000 employees upon completion in about 15 years.
ExxonMobil purchased 385 acres of the development for their 10,000 employee campus in 2008, and Springwoods Village has been under development ever since.
Employees have already begun working at the ExxonMobil campus, which is scheduled for completion by the end of 2015. The end of 2015 could also see as many as 1,200 people living within Springwoods Village.
For more information on Springwoods Village, visit www.springwoodsvillage.com.
