The La Quinta City Council and local Cal Fire officials broke ground today for the city’s newest fire station.

The Village Station, which will replace Fire Station No. 32, is a 7,200 square foot facility that will be equipped with photovoltaic solar panels and other water and energy efficient amenities, city officials said.

Located next to Fritz Burns Park at 78-111 Avenue 52, the location is expected to provide quicker response times for firefighters and serve not only the La Quinta Cove area but the central part of the city better, said La Quinta Fire Division Chief Dorian Cooley.

But among the most unique aspects of the $6.8 million project, which includes Phase I of the city’s Corporate Yard, is the method in which the city contracted the work.

Rather than hiring one major contractor, the city opted to use the Mult-Prime Contract method that divided the project into 13 elements.

This approach resulted in the city awarding 65 percent of the work to contractors within the Coachella Valley including Davis Reed Construction Inc., Desert Concepts and Del’s Flooring. In dollars, out of the $5 million awarded in contracts, $3.8 million goes to local firms, said Jesse Frescas, Jr. of gkkworks, the construction management firm for the project.

“This way, by breaking it up the way we did, it gave our local contractors, our local citizens, the opportunity to make money here in the community,” said Mayor Don Adolph.

Read the full story in tomorrow’s edition of The Desert Sun or on mydesert.com.