Fire Association Gets $50k Match For Bank Street Station

HARWICH – An Anonymous donor has made a $50,000 matching gift to help complete the Harwich Fire Association’s historic preservation of the former fire station on Bank Street. 

The project has moved forward quickly this year, according to Fire Department Lt. Scott Tyldesley, buoyed by significant sweat equity provided by the association along with Community Preservation Act funds and Harwich Affordable Housing Trust funds.

“But HFA still needs funds to cross the finish line and hopes the challenge gift will inspire $50,000 in matching funds,” he said in a press release.

When restoration work is completed, the old Bank Street Firehouse will have space to host gatherings, including a full kitchen, and will be home to the legendary 1928 Maxim Fire Engine, the town’s first motorized fire engine, according to Tyldesley. There will be three affordable housing apartments created on the second floor of the building, he added.

The town has been a strong supporter of the project. Town meeting approved $400,000 in Community Preservation Act funds for the work and the affordable housing trust provided another $476,000. The 2.06-acre property including the fire station and parking lot was sold by the town for $300,000 to two organizations, the fire association and the Harwich Conservation Trust.  

 HCT was looking for additional parking space as it developed plans to enhance walking trails and add Americans with Disabilities Act improvements to the 66-acre Robert F. Smith Cold Brook Preserve, which is adjacent to the Bank Street site. HCT has completed a comprehensive eco-restoration of the Cold Brook property, which is evolving into a wildlife preserve while enabling people of all abilities and ages to enjoy nature. 

Cold Brook now runs freely through the preserve for the first time in over a century.

 The restoration project is also tied to the town’s comprehensive wastewater management plan, filtering nitrogen from groundwater in ponds established to reduce the nitrogen leaving the preserve as it flows into Saquatucket Harbor.

The kitchen being installed in the former fire station still needs finishing, according to Tydlesley, along with additional plumbing and electrical work. To date, the fire association has put $300,000 worth of volunteer labor into the project, according to the association’s press release, and local businesses have donated another $300,000 in goods and services. 

“This unique project will bring an important piece of Harwich history back to life, celebrate the contributions of first responders and provide much needed affordable housing for the community,” Tyldesley said.

 To donate to the Bank Street Firehouse project, visit the fire associations’s  website at  harwichfireassociation.com, or call HFA President Bruce Young at 508-432-0458. The association hoped to meet its funding goal by Dec. 31.