Fire safety improvement plans for businesses and residents from Loop Road to Mercedes-Benz U.S. International have been advanced by Tuscaloosa city leaders.

The biggest project is for a new Tuscaloosa Fire Rescue Station 11, which will relocate from its current address on Covered Bridge Road to one closer to the Mercedes-Benz plant and its new 2-million-square-foot facility in Bibb County that will manufacture the batteries for the fully electric line of Mercedes-Benz vehicles coming this decade.

This new Station 11, which also will serve residents in the area beyond the Mercedes facilities, is the result of a partnership between City Hall, MBUSI and the state of Alabama that has been in the works since 2019.

“I’m happy to reach a conclusion with it and bring it to you guys,” said City Attorney Scott Holmes to the City Council’s public projects committee on Tuesday.

The cooperative agreement has the state providing up to $10 million for the new station and MBUSI another $1 million annually for the next 20 years. These dollars will help not only the construction of a new station, on land Mercedes is securing from the state and providing at little or no cost to city taxpayers, but also a new ladder truck, pumper truck and 12 additional fire department personnel.

“This gives the city of Tuscaloosa a little bit of finality to this agreement,” Holmes said.

Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox agreed.

“We’ve had to work through some difficult issues,” the mayor said.

Closer to home, the council also agreed to allow city staff to begin negotiations with two architectural firms for a new Fire Station 6 and the remodeled future home of Fire Station 5.

Station 6 on Loop Road closed earlier this year after it was determined the cost to repair deficiencies and bring the aging structure up to code would cost more, over time, than investing in a new facility. Since then, firefighters assigned to this station have been operating from Station 4 in Alberta.

The initial plan was to keep Station 6 on the campus of the Tuscaloosa Veterans Affairs Medical Center – and that still may happen – but officials said an off-campus location recently was made available that may work out better.

This location was not revealed as negotiations for obtaining it remain ongoing, but PH&J Architects of Montgomery was selected following a bid process to design the new Station 6, wherever it goes.

Up to $200,000 has been budgeted for outside services, such as this design work, for the new Station 6. A final cost is expected to come before the City Council next week.

Also set for a final cost vote is the design work for Station 5, which is going in the former Townsend Honda facility purchased in 2019 by City Hall for fire department purposes.

The fire department’s administration and training division already operate out of this Greensboro Avenue facility, but Station 5’s engine and firefighters have been at Station 1 on 15th Street since it opened in 2009.

Another $200,000 has been set aside for the design work needed to convert the former automobile dealership into a functioning fire station and Williams Blackstock Architects of Birmingham was chosen Tuesday for this work.

The result of negotiations on a final cost for a remodeled Station 5 are expected to come before the City Council next week.

Reach Jason Morton at jason.morton@tuscaloosanews.com.