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Have a buck to spare? You can be the proud owner of a historic fire station in Fremont, CA.
But if you’re burning to buy, you’d better have a plan in place.
“We are offering the building, not the land,” says Shaivali Desai, director at SiliconSage Builders, the developer who plans to erect housing on the land currently occupied by the station. The buyer “can move it off the site, and place it on any other land that they may own.”
The city agreed to sell the fire station to SiliconSage as long as the developers made an attempt to sell the old station before demolishing it to make way for a mixed-use development, which will include ground-floor retail space, apartments, and townhouses.
“The site does need to be cleared of all existing buildings, including the former Centerville Fire Station, in order to construct the development,” Fremont City Associate Planner Aki Honda Snelling said in an email. “In conjunction with the City’s approval of the development project, the City approved demolition of the former fire station, unless the fire station could be moved off-site.”
The city agreed the price would be set at a single dollar with the buyer responsible for all removal costs.
We can see why there’s at least a hope that the fire station could be saved. A historic impact assessment of the station determined “[it] retains a high degree of exterior architectural integrity to its original 1954 minimalist International Style design.” The 4,800-square-foot station includes a wide roll-up garage door, and a first story clad in Roman brick.
The assessment also notes it’s “the city’s second oldest station and a civic landmark in the historic town center of Centerville.”
But the ’50s-era building, which was deemed seismically unsound and therefore decommissioned in 2008, could cost upward of $500,000 to move.
SiliconSage Builders will vet potential buyers to ensure they understand the financial undertaking.
And a buyer can’t simply plunk down a buck and plan to move the structure next year. The developer has a schedule to stick to. Item No. 1 on the agenda is removing the fire station and other buildings to make way for the new development.
“Ultimately, we need to figure out the timeline with them,” Desai says of a potential buyer. Currently, PG&E is disconnecting all utilities to the buildings, so they’ll be ready to be razed or, in the case of the fire station, move to a new home.
While it seems like a wild idea, there are precedents. The East Bay town of Hercules also offered a city-owned property for $1 with the caveat that the buyer would move it.
Amazingly, the historic Queen Anne, which had been cut in half for ease of transport, received an offer and was moved to Napa. But it wasn’t just an average Joe who bought the place. It was Berkeley construction firm Rockhead and Quarry, who specialize in restoring historic homes, according to Curbed.
In another part of the country, or even in another part of the state, moving the structure might not seem like such a tall order. But in the San Francisco Bay Area, empty lots aren’t exactly plentiful.
And even if a buyer were able to move it, it’s not exactly move-in ready.
“The inside of that building, it’s not in great shape right now,” Desai says of the unused structure.
Need more proof resurrection is possible? In 2017, a California listing agent purchased an abandoned church for $1, teamed with a developer to move it a few blocks, renovated it, and put the finished product on the market for $470,000.
There is one bright spot for the former firehouse. Even if a buyer doesn’t materialize, there’s a chance to walk off with a slice of history.
“We’re going to offer salvaged historic materials up for donation,” says Desai. However, hauling away those raw materials, such as bricks or even a fire pole, will be at your own cost.
If the idea of living in a fire station appeals to you, ring the alarm. March 20 is the deadline to make your case.
“Anybody wants to take it and save it, we would love for that to happen,” Desai says.
Contact Desai at shaivali@siliconsage.com for more information.
The post Red-Hot Deal: You Can Buy a Fremont, CA, Firehouse for Just $1 appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®.
source https://www.realtor.com/news/unique-homes/one-dollar-fremont-firehouse-for-sale/
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