The Lawrence City Commission agreed this morning to proceed with construction of a fifth fire station for the city.

Fire officials have long said a fifth station is needed to keep up with Lawrence’s growth. The city’s last additional fire station was built in 1982.

“I think you know how the city has grown” since then, Lawrence-Douglas County Fire & Medical Chief Jim McSwain said.

Commissioners said they favor an option to build the station on land at 19th Street and Stewart Avenue. Administrative offices would be moved from the downtown fire station to the new building.

“I think it is important, symbolically, to have our civic functions in the downtown area,” Commissioner David Dunfield said. “But the fire station is a different beast — it’s not a destination point where citizens go.”

Construction of the station will cost an estimated $5 million. Design and building should begin by the end of the year.

For more on this story, pick up a copy of Thursday’s Journal-World.