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The post-renovation Bank Street Firehouse has three one-bedroom apartments, an office space, and a community gathering space. (Photo courtesy Harwich Conservation Trusts/Gerry Beetham)
The town of Harwich has partnered with local nonprofit groups to turn a vacant firehouse into affordable housing units and a community space.
The Bank Street Firehouse project is the culmination of efforts by the town, the Harwich Fire Association (membership is active and retired Harwich firefighters), and the Harwich Conservation Trust. Today, the former fire station has an event space, three one-bedroom apartments, an office, and items from the Fire Department’s history, including the town’s restored 1927 fire engine.
The Bank Street Firehouse dates back nearly 100 years and served as Harwich’s fire station until 1995, when the Fire Department moved to a new station. The old firehouse was subsequently used by the town’s harbormaster and local Boy Scout troops, but it eventually fell into disrepair. Plans to demolish the structure never came to fruition.
Harwich Fire Chief David LeBlanc said the Fire Association started looking at the building around 2020.
“They thought it would be a really cool project to buy the building and rehabilitate it, and store the town’s original fire truck there,” he said.
The station sits on land adjacent to the Cold Brook Preserve, a retired cranberry bog owned by the Harwich Conservation Trust that has been restored to as a habitat accessible via trails.
Discussions between the Fire Association and the Conservation Trust led to a formal request for proposals in 2022.
“There were some criteria put forward by the town,” LeBlanc said. “They were looking for a specific partner to facilitate what the town felt the best use would be for the building.”
The joint bid was successful.
“We weren’t the high bidder,” said retired Harwich Fire Chief Norm Clarke, “but we presented a package that was the best for the community.”
Clarke said renovating the fire station would require about $1 million. The partnership applied for and received funding from the town’s Community Preservation Committee, given the building’s historic significance and its educational potential due to its proximity to Cold Brook Preserve. They secured further funding from the town’s Affordable Housing Trust, on the condition that the renovation include affordable housing units.
“I think the strong community partnership between the Fire Association and the Harwich Conservation Trust really turned this whole project into something that the whole community can get behind,” said Harwich Town Administrator Jay McGrail.
For all the years it went unused, the building was still in relatively good shape. Renovations finished earlier this year, and the event space is open for rentals. The rental process for the apartments is ongoing, Clarke said, but the application process is slated to open this fall.
Harwich Conservation Trust Executive Director Mike Lach recommended that communities be “open to opportunities for redevelopment of existing structures and properties that can create multiple community benefits.”
McGrail added, “If you’re able to work with strong community partners and think outside the box on a number of broad perspectives, like recreation, conservation and housing … the sky’s the limit.”