The old Fire Station 1 building pictured Dec. 17. The Oliva family, who owns the neighboring Hi-School Pharmacy headquarters, purchased the property from the city for $1.25 million. (Joshua Hart/The Columbian)Photo Gallery
Vancouver will move forward with plans to sell its old Fire Station 1 building to the family who owns Hi-School Pharmacy and hopes to expand their neighboring headquarters into the historic property.
The city council decided early this month to sell the property, concluding a five-year process that began when the city declared the fire station as surplus in 2015. Three years later, the Oliva family offered to buy the property for $1.425 million.
“Mr. Oliva has approached the city with an offer, and he’s very much interested in repurposing this site and the building, putting a lot of his own finances into it to make it creative office space,” Vancouver Community and Economic Development Director Chad Eiken said. “He’s also talked to us about his vision for that area, which would be to redevelop other properties that they control and to create really a district of creative office space.”
The former Fire Station 1 is located just west of downtown at 900 W. Evergreen Blvd. It includes a 14,500-square-foot building sitting on 0.88 acre. When the city council declared the property as surplus, it did so with the assumption that a new fire station would be built to replace it; that station, located on the corner of Main Street and Fourth Plain Boulevard, opened in 2018.
The sale of the old property was always meant to help cover the cost of building a new station, City Manager Eric Holmes said. The new Fire Station 1 facility has, until now, relied on additional money from Vancouver’s general fund.
Plans for the site
Josh Oliva told The Columbian he plans to use the fire station purchase to expand and renovate Hi-School Pharmacy’s headquarters, which has occupied the adjacent lot for around 45 years.
The company doesn’t expect to take up the entire space; Oliva said it’s planning to lease out most of the building to other companies seeking office space.
The area, which is located near the Port of Vancouver and new Waterfront Vancouver development, is rife with untapped potential, he added.
“I think it has potential to attract tenants looking for creative office/flex space that’s not currently available in other areas of downtown. Plus, the area has the benefit of more available street parking,” Oliva said. “Buying the fire station is key to our overall vision for reinvigorating the area. It’s fallen into disrepair over the years, and we plan to make a significant investment in the property.”
The Olivas are also planning to build a 68-unit apartment building on another property, one block south of Hi-School Pharmacy headquarters. Crews will break ground in January, with a move-in date tentatively scheduled for early 2022.
“We’re committed to this neighborhood,” Oliva said. “The buildings are older, but I think with a little bit of love, they can be something (where) people would want to lease space.”
Calls for housing
The city council’s decision to sell the property wasn’t unanimous. Two councilors voted against the proposal after hearing from a local homelessness advocate, who pushed for the city to retain the property and turn it into a transitional housing facility.
Peter Fels, a local attorney who previously served on the board of directors for the homelessness nonprofit Share, pointed out that the old fire house could serve as a shelter with minimal upgrades.
“The building is already suitable for housing. It has a kitchen, dormitory, exercise room, offices, lockers and engine bays, which can easily be converted to a day-use space,” Fels said. “We need housing. This is an ideal location. Besides being close to many services and amenities, neighbors who formerly had to listen to emergency sirens cannot realistically complain about having a few formerly homeless people as neighbors. In fact, by using this building for housing, you will be moving people off the street.”
His pitch resonated with city Councilors Sarah Fox and Ty Stober, who both voted against moving forward with the sale.
A lot has changed since 2015, Fox pointed out, citing the COVID-19 pandemic that’s left many Vancouver residents less financially secure. Stober said he wanted a more comprehensive look at the affordable and workforce housing already available in that area before selling away the rights to the property.
“With the assets we have and knowing the cost of real estate, if the city has some other purposes that would better use this site, then we better use the site,” Fox said. “Things have changed quite a bit since these decisions were made.”
The other four members of the city council elected to honor the plans made in 2015 and move forward with selling the fire station.
“We know that this developer will do a good job,” Councilor Linda Glover said. “I think development in this area is going to be very exciting. … Definitely housing is important, but we also need to be planning ahead for jobs.”
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