The City of Kettering will have an open house Dec. 11 for public discussion of its proposed purchase of more than 8.75 acres on East David Road for a new fire station.

Price of the property, which is located in an industrial and warehouse area between Glenstead Drive and Hempstead Station Drive, is $875,930. Estimated cost of of a fire station there would be $3 million to $5 million.

Kettering City Manager Mark Schwieterman said that if the city does purchase the land, portions of it might be sold in the future because the fire station would not require the entire parcel.

The location is a fit for part of Kettering’s long-range plan to restructure its current seven-station fire department to five, including four new stations. A preliminary study pinpointed a location on David as ideal.

This one has access to an existing traffic signal and to Stroop Road, Wilmington Pike and Bigger Road. The land is vacant. It’s not adjacent to residential areas and its use as a fire station has met with approval by most neighboring businesses.

The first station location to be chosen and purchased is at 3484 Far Hills Ave., where an existing vacant office building will be demolished later this month.

If the David Road site purchase is approved, Schwieterman said the city plans to hire an architect who would design both of the first two stations.

“We hope to have those designs completed during 2013,” he said. The earliest construction could begin on the first would be late in 2013.

Before that can take place, several steps and formal proceedings regarding the David site will be required following the open house, which will take place at Life Pointe Church on Marshall Road, near the property:

• A public hearing by the Kettering Planning Commission
• A public hearing by city council
• A final vote by city council.

The real estate contract allows a limit of 120 days to complete the sale.

Schwieterman said the city has been shopping for sites on and near David since February.

He emphasized that while the open house will include a mention of the overall long-range plan, its purpose is to focus on this particular property and a fire station there.

Under the plan, a new station on David would replace an existing one at Bigger and David roads.

Six of Kettering’s fire stations are in mostly residential areas, which was efficient when the department was staffed by volunteer firefighters, who responded from their homes. Most fire and rescue responses now come from the stations, which are staffed by professional and part-paid volunteer personnel.

The Far Hills station, which is immediately bordered by athletic fields for Kettering City Schools and an assisted living center, will replace a current station located south of Far Hills on West Dorothy Lane.