• The former Fire Station 1 is located at 900 W. Evergreen Boulevard, and consists of a 14,500 square foot building on 0.88 acres.
• City Council declared the former Fire Station 1 surplus to the City on March 16, 2015, per Resolution No. M-3852.
• In early 2019, Josh Oliva, manager of West Evergreen LLC, and whose various business interests ownseveral adjacent and nearby properties approached the City with an offer to purchase and renovate the building and property for re-use as creative office space. 
• The property was appraised in July 2020 for $1,425,000.
• The Oliva family owns property at  911 W. 11th Street, adjacent to Fire Station 1 and several other properties in the immediate vicinity, and has shared plans to, over time, renovate and adaptively reuse several buildings in their ownership to create a more vibrant employment district in a historically industrial area of downtown.
• VMC 3.30 specifies the procedures for the surplus and disposition of City property. Although the property was declared surplus by City Council in 2015, the method of disposition was not specified at that time.
• The City's Property Committee is recommending that Council authorize the Property Manager to enter into direct negotiations with Josh Oliva, on behalf of West Evergreen LLC, for the sale of Fire Station 1.

Goal 8, Objective 8.1: Make downtown Vancouver a vibrant destination for the community and the region.

Goal 8, Objective 8.1: Make downtown Vancouver a vibrant destination for the community and the region.

Goal 8, Objective 8.2: Strengthen neighborhood business districts.

The City's former Fire Station 1, located at 900 W. Evergreen, was declared surplus property by City Council in 2015, and in 2018, a new Fire Station 1 was constructed at the intersection of Main Street and Fourth Plain Boulevard after the City purchased the property from the Oliva family. The building and property have remained unoccupied since the fire department vacated it in 2018. 

In anticipation of the new fire station being constructed, the property was declared surplus by City Council in 2015. In 2018, the City was approached by Josh Oliva, whose family controls adjacent parcels and other properties in the immediate vicinity of the site, to purchase and renovate the building and property for creative office use, as part of a broader plan to revitalize other properties in their control for offices and residences, resulting in a more active entrepreneurial district. In the course of discussions to date with the prospective buyer, the City has explored the use of a Disposition and Development Agreement (DDA) as a way to perfect the sale of this property in the context of future development of abutting properties. The prospective buyer, while committed long term to adaptive reuse of their holdings in the vicinity of Station #1, is unable to commit at this time to specific terms of development/redevelopment through a DDA. 

The City's surplus and disposition regulations permit direct negotiations with abutting property owners of city property to be disposed. City staff would like the opportunity to directly negotiate the terms of a sale of Fire Station 1 with West Evergreen LLC, and will return to Council with a draft purchase and sale agreement that formalizes the agreed to sale price, due diligence period, and the purchaser's commitment to improve the fire station property.

1. Direct negotiations will streamline the process so that repairs can be made to the building by the new owner more quickly;
2. Direct negotiations will allow for City interests beyond sale price to be discussed transparently;
3. The Oliva family meets the requirement as an abutting property owner;
4. The Oliva family has a proven record of delivering high quality projects that have resulted in a significant increase in community vitality.