Staff Writer

When local mason Nate Libby looks at the Saco Central Fire Station, he sees a historic building ready to be restored and reused for office and storage space.

When Saco Spirit President Johanna Hoffman looks at the old brick building, she sees the perfect spot for a public market and artist studios.

Together, they are working on a plan for the Thornton Avenue building, which will be vacated this spring when the fire department relocates to a new station on North Street. They are expected to present their plan to city councilors within the next few weeks.

A seven-member ad-hoc committee last year examined the future of the 73-year-old station and recommended the city council put out a request for proposals. Libby and Saco Spirit each submitted a proposal after the deadline, but the council reviewed the proposals in December.

Libby proposed buying the station for $40,000 to use as a base for his company, Nate Libby’s Masonry, currently located in Biddeford. He later amended his proposal to include both the station and adjacent administrative building.

Saco Spirit suggested using the building for a year-round public market, studios for artists and office space for nonprofit groups. The proposal did not include plans for how to purchase the building.

“Saco Spirit really needed someone else to purchase the building,” Hoffman said.

Hoffman said Libby suggested working with Saco Spirit to find a use for portions of the 21,660-square-foot station he would not use for office and storage space.

“I don’t need the entire building. I want to see the best use for the city and Saco Spirit has some great ideas,” Libby said. “I feel like it’s a very good fit to work with those guys.”

Libby said Saco Spirit has the resources to find a good use for empty space and is more in touch with the needs of the downtown community.

Libby, who lives in Saco, began thinking about a plan to purchase Central Fire Station while he was doing masonry work at the new station. He said the old station is in “disarray” and is a huge undertaking. It needs restoration of bricks to make them watertight,  an elevator, a new roof and heating system and other repairs to bring the building up to code.

“You’re talking about some major expenses within the building,” he said.

Libby estimates it will cost nearly $447,000 to bring the building to code, plus additional money to adapt space for specific uses.

The assessed value of the buildings and quarter-acre lot is $498,100, according to City Assessor Daniel Sanborn. Two commercial brokers estimated the market value of the station at $298,000 and $395,000.

City Planner Bob Hamblen said the Maine Historic Preservation Commission recently determined the building is eligible for inclusion on the Historic Preservation Register.

City Administrator Richard Michaud said the city has not done an estimate of the amount of work needed on Central Fire Station.

“There is a reason that we’re moving and mostly it’s the condition of the building,” he said.

Michaud said he expects the council to review a written plan from Libby and Saco Spirit at a workshop as soon as Feb. 22. The council could either move forward with the proposal or vote to put the building on the open market. Hamblen said the building could be listed on the open market for four to six months.

Hoffman said the building is in the perfect location to draw people downtown and unite Main Street and Saco Valley Shopping Center.

“You couldn’t have a more perfect location. It’s a little gem right there in the middle,” she said.

Hoffman envisions using the building as an incubator for business. Creating a public market in the station would be a huge draw for the city, she said.

“We think public markets are taking off like gangbusters. You can create a destination and educate people about everything else that is around,” she said. “We really need people to come here to stay.”

Reusing the building for businesses also would generate revenue for the city by putting the property on the tax books, she said.

“If you create businesses within that building, they’re all going to pay taxes back to the city in ever increasing increments,” she said.

For his part, Libby said he wants to see Central Fire Station remain standing in the heart of downtown. If he buys the building, he plans to restore and maintain its current exterior.

“It will always look like a fire station,” he said. “It’s a staple of downtown Saco.”

Hoffman and Libby both want to hear from community members about what they would like to see in the building if the council accepts Libby’s proposal.

“The community is what’s going to keep it going,” Hoffman said. “I think it’s a matter of getting people to take a risk. It’s a leap of faith. Let’s just take a chance on this.”

To share ideas about the fire station, call Saco Spirit at 286-3546 or email sacospirit@hotmail.com.