The city of Bondurant has awarded a contract for the conversion of its fire station into a community space for events and recreational programming, an amenity City Administrator Marketa Oliver said has been badly needed in the fast-growing community of about 9,500 people.

The Bondurant City Council approved a contract on Sept. 2 for about $2.3 million to Des Moines-based Core Construction for The Station project, which has an overall cost of about $3.1 million.

The building’s name is a nod to its history as a fire station and its proximity to the old train depot. It is located at 101 Grant St. North on the west end of the city’s Grain District Redevelopment District. City officials see it serving as a connector between the Grain District and its Silo Commons, an outdoor space with an amphitheater, the Chautauqua Valley Trail and the community.

Silo Commons will be green space with an amphitheater on the east side of the Grain District site, with the nine-pack cluster of grain silos serving as the backdrop. It will serve as the entrance to the development from the east.

The Silo Commons project was awarded a $749,000 Destination Iowa grant from the Iowa Economic Development Authority last week. Work is anticipated to begin in 2026.

“We consider the Grain District as an extension of our Main Street so The Station will support everything we have going on in the Grain District,” Oliver said. “It will draw people to the area and will be able to be used in conjunction with the public events we will have at Silo Commons. It’s just a good marriage to draw people downtown and to the Grain District.”

FEH Design is the architect on The Station, and Cory Sharp, an associate principal with the firm, said the project will be a “game-changer” for Bondurant.

“This fire station that is going to be transformed into an event center, a community center, is going to be that central node of all different activities that are happening in Bondurant,” he said.

Currently, people enter the fire station off of Grant Street. The building is going to be redesigned so the front faces Main Street, which will result in its address changing, Sharp said.

The east side of the building will be configured at an angle to align with the bike trail that passes by, and direct people’s focus to the Grain District development, he said.

“I think it helps relate to all these different activities that are happening in Bondurant, so the location for me is the most exciting thing this project has going forward and how it’s going to connect to all these different pieces that are happening,” Sharp said.

Oliver said another feature of the project is the city’s collaboration with a property owner to the north for the construction of a parking lot that will be available to businesses during the day and provide parking for The Station during evenings and weekends.

Work on The Station won’t begin until after the fire department moves from the fire station in mid-October, but some external work will begin before then, she said.

“Our goal is to have it done before Summer Fest [in June] of next year,” she said.

Once done, it will create all sorts of opportunities for events and public gatherings, Oliver said.

“The community has needed this type of space for a long time,” she said.