Eagan's hot to sell old fire station

Some get turned into condos. Others into coffee shops, bars, restaurants, dance studios and even private homes.

Regardless of the use, it is clear that there can be new life for old fire stations once the trucks and firefighters move away.

The city of Eagan hopes that trend continues as it prepares to market Fire Station No. 2 as surplus property.

"It is a bit unusual," admits Jon Hohenstein, Eagan's Community Development director.

At the same time, Hohenstein said, selling something like a fire station will ultimately come down to market forces -- and how low the city is willing to go on its asking price.

At the moment, the city is going to directly market the 5,484-square-foot building at an asking price of $550,000.

Should that not move the nearly 40-year-old structure, the city either will drop the price or try to sell it through a broker, Hohenstein said.

As a fire station, "It's outlived its usefulness," Eagan City Administrator Thomas Hedges said.

But for the creative at heart, the possibilities are many.

A hot history of sales

Although history would suggest that the property will get sold, the housing and real estate crisis that has hit the country the past three years could make the task difficult this year, especially with indications that real estate prices continue to decline nationally.

"We've had to sell public buildings before," said former Waconia Mayor Roger Lehrke. "I would think, especially like things are everywhere, it would be tough as nails."

Minneapolis and St. Paul probably have had the most experience -- and success -- in selling fire stations. St. Paul sold Station 14 on Snelling Avenue, for example, and it was turned into a dance studio years ago. It is now a professional building that still retains the Station 14 name.

Minneapolis has seen its former fire stations turned into condominiums, bagel shops, bars and professional offices.

Most of the time the buildings are sold as is, but sometimes cities have had to remove fire poles and alter other features to make the buildings more immediately attractive to buyers.

"This is an as-is sale," Hohenstein said of the Fire Station No. 2. "The property is as presented."

He said that because Eagan has a volunteer fire department, no firefighters slept at the station, and thus there are no fire poles inside. Essentially, Station 2 is a box with plenty of space, a few offices and some lockers, Hohenstein said.

The fire station has been rezoned for industrial commercial use, which should make the sale easier.

"I don't think it will be hard" to unload it, Hedges said. "We'll be talking to all the neighbors. I think there will be some interest. It's in a good location."