At a special meeting last week, City Council approved the purchase of a former charter school for $6.8 million.
The 10.5-acre parcel at 3101 Progress Lane, will house Fire Department Administration, and will be the permanent site of Fire Department Logistics. Additionally, it will house Station 32 for two years.
Acquiring the property will eliminate the need for other planned projects, including remodeling existing Fire Station 32 to house Logistics, and building new Fire Administration and Logistics facilities, saving a total of $10.7 million that was budgeted for those projects.
The Progress Lane facility will provide a place for Station 32 to be based during the two-year construction on an expanded station on Old Canoe Creek Road.
To fund the purchase, Council agreed to increase the borrowing amount for an existing loan to a total of $19 million — $10 million for the 17th Street ballfields, and up to $9 million for the Progress Lane property purchase and renovation.
