By allowing ads to appear on this site, you support the local businesses who, in turn, support great journalism.
Lathrop Manteca grand re-opening of station is Sunday
Lathrop Manteca Fire logo

The Lathrop Manteca Fire District’s $4 million investment into Historical Lathrop represents a multiagency effort to ensure that one of California’s fastest-growing cities doesn’t leave any section within its boundaries without the amenities residents deserve.

And those residents will get a chance this weekend to see the renovations for Station 31 – located at 800 E. J Street – up close and personal.

The Lathrop Manteca Fire District is welcoming the public to Station 31 on Sunday, Oct. 9 from 2 to 4 p.m. for a Grand Reopening of the facility that serves the heart of Lathrop. The station has been fully operational for some time after the temporary relocation of crews to an adjacent station while the work was completed.

According to Lathrop Manteca Division Chief Larry Madoski, the work was sorely needed.

“We ended up at just over $4 million and got this station back up and running in less than 8 months,” Madoski said. “That’s a pretty incredible feat considering that we started by looking at a crumbling foundation.

“The completed project took just over 14 months.”

The $4 million facelift included removing the expansive grass area in front of the building and replacing it with drought-resistant landscaping to cut down on water usage. The building also now includes separate bunk space for a gender diverse workforce, a new alerting system, a new “clean room” for firefighter gear, and a new diesel exhaust removal system.

As part of the work, crews installed a brick façade in the front of the building that makes it look similar to Station 34 in the Mossdale tract and Station 35 in River Islands – creating symmetry amongst the three buildings that serve residents that reside within Lathrop’s boundaries.

That investment into the community, Madoski said, reflects the district’s longstanding goal of serving Lathrop’s residents.

“It’s an investment of over $4 million into Historical Lathrop, and if you look at that building today it’s a beautiful representation of how both the fire board and the council are integrating all of Lathrop together,” Madoski said. “It’s a great complement to the Manuel Valverde Park renovation – who incidentally was one of our fire board members back in the day.”

While the completion of the work took slightly longer than expected thanks to supply-chain disruptions and the scarcity of some of the supplies needed, the delay on the materials for the building – which has the same brick exterior as Station 35, which now houses the district’s administrative offices that used to be on J Street – didn’t prevent the district from meeting it’s goal of welcoming the public to see the investment up close.

Funding for the work came from fire facilities fees – levied against new construction and development to help pay for the services that are impacted by growth – as well as general fund money and other revenue sources.

The design of the building was completed by Eric Wohle of LDA Partners while Diede Construction completed the work and Creative Outdoor Environments installed the drought-resistant landscaping.

Those wishing to attend can RSVP by visiting https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Y5Q9JY8.  

To contact Bulletin reporter Jason Campbell email jcampbell@mantecabulletin.com or call 209.249.3544.