The new site for Fire Station No. 6 and improvements to Hollabaugh Recreation Center were officially put in motion Thursday, Sept. 29, as Mayor Scott LeMay and the City Council led staff, project leaders and other guests at groundbreaking ceremonies.

It was the third time in less than two years that ground had been broken at multiple sites on the same day as Garland continues to quickly implement the record $423.7 million bond package that Council proposed and voters approved in 2019.

At Station No. 6, 6450 N. President George Bush Turnpike, it was merely a ceremonial first turn of the dirt. Crews have been actively digging on the site near Campbell Road for a couple of weeks. The area around the station has changed dramatically in the 42 years since the original Station No. 6 was built and the new location will allow for better response times.

The first of three redesigned and relocated fire stations from the Build Garland bond program, Station No. 6 will feature three pull-through apparatus bays. Those will be heavily vented to limit firefighters’ exposure to carcinogens and protect the crews when they are in the living side of the station.

Fire Chief Mark Lee said that camaraderie and cohesiveness is crucial to a crew’s success and praised the design of the station for providing many opportunities for communal connectivity. Chief Lee thanked voters for addressing modern needs in fire operations and equipment.

Council then moved to 3925 W. Walnut St. to kick off a 14,300-square-foot expansion and upgrade of the Hollabaugh Recreation Center. The project will provide:

-A new gymnasium with basketball and pickleball courts

-An inside walking track

-New lockers and restrooms

-Upgrades to the kitchen, fitness equipment and furniture

In addition, the main entrance and reception desk will be flipped to the west side of the building, to set the stage for an upcoming project from the Build Garland bond program – a new Walnut Creek Branch Library adjacent to the Hollabaugh Recreation Center.

Special guests included Mary Hollabaugh, whose late husband Harris Hollabaugh was a Council Member and Parks Board representative and relentless advocate for the recreation center for West Garland that opened in 2011 and is named after him. Hollabaugh's daughters Lisa Dalton and Nancy Greer also attended the ceremony.