On May 20, Willmeng Construction and the City of Surprise celebrated the completion of the Rescue Oasis public safety and recreation complex. Rescue Oasis includes four new facilities: Fire Station 309, Soak Station 309 Splash Pad, Rescue Oasis Park, and Oasis Swim Center. The project is located on 19 acres north of Cactus Road at Perryville Road in the fast-growing southwest portion of the City of Surprise. The fire station, aquatic center, and park are situated on the same site and were constructed simultaneously, bringing together critical emergency services along with high-demand recreational amenities for residents of all ages.
“The Rescue Oasis complex demonstrates Surprise’s commitment to enhancing the community experience for our growing community with investments in both public safety and quality of life projects,” said Mayor Kevin Sartor. “This complex allows the City to not only provide responsive emergency services but also offers the community a safe place to play and connect.”
Fire Station 309 has been occupied since February and the Rescue Oasis Park and Soak Station 309 Splash Pad opened on May 10. The Oasis Swim Center will open to the public on May 24.
Willmeng served as the general contractor for the new complex, with LEA Architects as the lead design firm on Fire Station 309 and Architekton leading design of the aquatic center and park. Dig Studio was the landscape architect, and Dibble was responsible for the onsite civil work, as well as offsite improvements, including roadway enhancements at the intersection of Cactus Road and Perryville Road, along with infrastructure work.
“In a lot of ways, this was a very, very courageous project for the City of Surprise to undertake, but the city staff and everyone involved committed to it and supported it all the way through,” said James Murphy, CEO of Willmeng. “Seeing the end result and knowing the long-term impact this will have on the community, I literally feel like we were all a part of delivering one of the best gifts I’ve ever been a part of delivering.”
Fire Station 309 is a state-of-the-art public safety facility complete with four apparatus bays, a decontamination room, a Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) room, a turn-out gear locker room, two EMS rooms, ten dorms, a fitness room, a full kitchen with pantry, a workshop, a community room, a day room, a workstation area, office space, a conference room, an exam room, laundry facilities, a dining room with patios, a janitor room, restrooms, storage, a public lobby, and mechanical and fire riser rooms. The fire station will also house a small police substation with a lobby waiting area, an ADA public restroom, a staff restroom, two private offices, and a patrol officer area. The police substation will have a separate entrance and secured parking for officers.
“This is not just an addition to the community, it is a significant step forward,” said Surprise Fire-Medical Department Chief Brenden Espie. “This station has room to grow. There’s potential for another engine, potentially an ambulance, and who knows what else this part of the city may need into the future.”
Fire Station 309 also will house the department’s Command Training Center, or CTC. This training center will allow staff to put fire-medical personnel into virtual scenarios to ensure they’re ready for real world challenges.
“This capability that these guys have built for us, this is going to ensure that we put our members into these scenarios and to train them to make the right decisions,” Espie said. “I have no doubt that the CTC is definitely going to change this department for generations to come.”
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This project is the latest in which Willmeng has partnered with the City of Surprise. Recently, Willmeng also completed two fire stations, 304 and 308, and The Fields at Countryside, a 12-acre facility featuring multipurpose athletic fields and a playground located at W. Greenway Rd. and 153rd Ave.
The Oasis Swim Center is the third public pool in the city. It includes three bodies of water: a recreational pool, a diving/warmup pool, and a competitive pool. The recreational pool includes water features and a variety of slides suitable for all ages. The competition pool is an 8-lane, 50-meter pool that can also be utilized as a 23-lane, 25-yard pool with shaded stadium seating for spectators, along with parking, restrooms, locker rooms, a concessions area, a training room, and an office. The diving pool/warmup pool has two 1-meter springboards and six 25-yard lanes. This new addition will give Surprise the ability to host local meets for high schools, as well as national swim clubs and collegiate meets.
Adjacent to the aquatic center, Rescue Oasis Park includes a playground with climbing structures, slides and spring riders, a basketball court, sand volleyball court and fire station-themed splash pad.
“I think what we did for the community and the synergy of the facility is fantastic,” said Holly Osborn, Surprise Parks and Recreation Director and the driving force behind the new complex. “It isn’t common that you put parks and a fire station together, but there is a correlation between aquatics safety and the fire department and what they provide the community. This is truly a one-of-a-kind project and I know I’m never going to get to build another one.”
The project also includes site development, landscape and civil improvements, site lighting, and utility services. Construction of the offsite improvements included, but was not limited to, water, sewer, and road enhancements that extend Perryville Road north of Cactus Road to the intersection of Cactus and Perryville Roads, including the installation of a new traffic signal.
