Fire Department Design Clears Historic Preservation Commission

Steve Rohrbach of Rohrbach Associates goes over design elements with the Oskaloosa Historic Preservation Commission.

Oskaloosa, Iowa – The voter-approved addition and renovation of the Oskaloosa Fire Station took another step forward this past week. The Historic Preservation Commission passed a resolution in favor of the design on the new addition.

The design changes had been recently viewed by the Oskaloosa City Council in a work session. After clearing the Historic Preservation Commission, the design now only needs to clear the Planning and Zoning Commission before receiving the final approval from the Oskaloosa City Council.

The Historic Preservation Commission heard from Steve Rohrbach of Rohrbach Associates. Rohrbach Associates is the architect firm overseeing the expansion and renovation project.

One portion of the new structure is the elevator and stairwell connector between the existing structure and the new structure. This portion of the expansion would be made primarily of glass. Designers with Rohrbach Associates said that this would allow a better appreciation of the two structures’ design. Instead of turning that junction into a focal point, it would allow the existing architecture to show through the glass versus being hidden.

Another portion of interest for the Historic Preservation Committee was the planned update for the existing apparatus bay doors. The new doors will give nod to the days gone by, and appear to be the swinging door type that was used when the station housed horse-drawn equipment.

The Commission voted in favor of the plans, and it now moves on to Planning and Zoning for their input.