HARMONY — The Harmony Fire District announced that it will build a state-of-the art facility on Route 19 by the Northgate Plaza.

“We are moving!” The fire district wrote in a Thursday afternoon Facebook post.

Tim Sapienza, fire district president, said this process has been years in the making.

“The property's in a good location,” he said. “It's easy access to most of our fire coverage area, so it kind of was a no-brainer.”

Since the merging of the Zelienople and Harmony volunteer firefighters, Sapienza said, the department has been pressed for space in its single-story station in Harmony.

Sapienza said the district is in the first phases of construction.

“We're just starting to put a committee together on a footprint of what we want,” he said.

No plans are available yet, and the district hasn't made any decisions on design.

Sapienza said the fire district is waiting on the state departments of Environmental Protection and Transportation for permission to clear the property, which includes some wetlands.

“We're just starting,” he said. “We've been saving for it, but it'll be determined by how long it takes PennDOT and DEP. Time is of the essence. PennDOT seems to be the holdup right now.”

Sapienza said the district first reached out to PennDOT in October and put the fire department's sign on the property about three weeks ago.

Because trees can't be cleared from April to November due to protection protocols for bats, Sapienza said, work isn't likely to begin in the foreseeable future.

“Probably nothing more will happen there but getting everything approved,” Sapienza said.

Harmony Fire District's Facebook post said the new facility will provide “desperately” needed space and will be designed to accommodate “a top-of-the-line fitness center, several new bunk rooms, a state-of-the art training room and much more.”