After a deal to sell its Ogletown Road fire station fell through, Aetna Hose, Hook and Ladder Company is going back to the drawing board as it tries to find a way to build a new modern facility.
Department leaders have coalesced around two likely possibilities: building a new station at the Ogletown Road site or convincing the University of Delaware to donate or sell Aetna a vacant property in Delaware Technology Park on Wyoming Road.
“It’s going to probably be at one of these two locations,” Aetna President Dan Seador said. “We would prefer it be over on Wyoming Road, and we want to continue to reinforce that message, both to the public and university.”
For several years, Aetna has been planning for a new station to replace Station 8 on Ogletown Road and Station 9 on Academy Street. Both facilities – built in 1963 and 1922, respectively – are showing their age and in need of costly repairs.