While work is progressing at the safety complex in Brookline, next door in Milford, officials have decided to wait until spring before starting on a new ambulance facility.

In Brookline, construction is underway on a new addition at the safety complex on Route 13, which currently houses the ambulance service but will soon be home to a police station, according to Brendan Denehy, who sits on the committee overseeing construction of the project which began Aug. 28.

“Site work is underway, and concrete for the footings started pouring this past Tuesday,” Denehy said. “If everything proceeds according to timeline, then the structure will be in place before winter, allowing finish work to be completed inside during the winter.”

The ambulance facility was built in 2004, but the building was designed with the idea of adding a police station in the future, said Denehy. The addition, which is expected to be completed next March, will take the police department out of the basement of town hall.

“The facility will provide adequate office space, evidence storage and detainee space for the foreseeable future; and has a sally port for the secure transportation of detainees from cruisers into the holding areas,” said Denehy. “The building also has space for future growth. The upstairs will be left unfinished and will be used for storage. If further department growth is required, then this area can be completed.”

Next door in Milford, the town is hoping that by waiting until spring to start building a new ambulance facility, prices on the project will come down.

Currently, the Milford Ambulance Service operates out of the basement of town hall but the space is cramped and not large enough to accommodate a much-needed new ambulance, said town officials. In March, voters approved the construction of a new facility, and work started this summer on the lot on Elm Street. But with winter near, Selectman Mark Fougere, who sits on the Ambulance Building Committee, said the group decided unanimously to put work on hold until spring.

“We believe a more competitive bidding market will exist this winter than early fall, helping to control costs, creating a greater cost assurance environment,” said Fougere.

The group also decided that waiting would help the town avoid some of the risks of winter construction including bad weather, and will give the committee a better sense of the costs involved with the building.

“Given these factors and with protecting the taxpayers’ monies paramount, we believe the most prudent course of action is to wait,” said Fougere. “If another mild winter visits us this year, the schedule can be adjusted to accommodate an earlier start.”

nfoster@newstote.com