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By DONALD MOTTERN | Staff Writer

PELHAM – The old Pelham Fire Station No. 3 will now serve the new purpose of being Southeastern Construction Partners, LLC’s new company headquarters following a four-month long renovation process and ribbon cutting that took place on Friday, April 26.

This development is the latest chapter in a story that began when the Pelham Fire Department was found to have outgrown the old Fire Station No. 3 that sits on U.S. Highway 53 East. After nearly a decade of planning, the city of Pelham set forth on constructing a new station along Highway 11 and completed that process by opening the new Fire Station No. 3 in November 2022.

With the new state-of-the-art station allowing the department to better serve a growing population in Pelham, the old station ultimately proved unnecessary for the department to maintain. In September 2023, the old station was declared as surplus by the city and, after some time, it was eventually sold to Pelham-based Southeastern Construction Partners, LLC.

Specializing in private-sector commercial construction projects, the general contracting company offers services that include ground-up construction, metal buildings, retail and commercial buildouts among other focuses. Currently, the company is also working with the Birmingham Legion Football Club in the construction of a brand-new training facility and sports rehab complex.  Among their notable accomplishments are the Chelsea Youth Ball Park, rides, attractions and facilities at Alabama Adventure and Splash Adventure as well as renovations that have come to Oak Mountain Amphitheatre.

For their own headquarters, the company set forth in renovating the building to serve its new intended purpose but, according to Gary Lantrip, owner of Southeastern Construction Partners, LLC, the renovation also worked to pay homage to the building’s original purpose.

While the renovation has greatly changed the interior of the building, several firehouse related items were purposefully maintained and incorporated into the final interior design of the space. This includes two of the original fire truck bays which have now been converted into meeting spaces and conference rooms. The station’s original bay doors can also still be raised to allow in fresh air and sunlight and have helped maintain the outer appearance of the building.

Many of Pelham’s city officials attended the ribbon cutting event for the new headquarters and joined Lantrip and other guests and employees for yard games, community and pizza supplied by Uncle G’s. Pelham Mayor Gary Waters, who holds the distinction of being Pelham’s former fire chief, also spoke at the event on how visiting the old fire station caused many memories to surface.

Pelham Fire Chief Mike Reid and Deputy Chief Chris Carpenter were also among those that toured the new facility and took note of both the changes and chosen preservation.

“This station was built in 1990,” Reid said. “In some ways, it’s hard to picture how it looked before. They’ve utilized this space so well, and their vision for their new office was obviously well thought-out. I really like how they incorporated elements of the original building into the design.”