The long-awaited building trade between the city of Durango and Durango Fire Protection District was officially completed Friday morning when Mayor Melissa Youssef and DFPD board president Karen Barger traded keys on the steps of the former Durango School District 9-R administration building.
The trade consisted of the city giving ownership of River City Hall at 1235 Camino del Rio to DFPD, which in turn gave ownership of the former 9-R administration building at 201 East 12th St. to the city.
The city also agreed to pay $3,586,275 to the fire district, a fair market value determined by Bob Allen of the appraisal group Allen & Associates.
Durango School District 9-R previously announced it purchased space in the lower level of Columbine Center at 281 Sawyer Drive, Ste. 100, in Bodo Park.
A small group of city and fire district officials gathered outside the former 9-R administration building just before 11 a.m. for the official handoff of building keys. When the keys were traded, the group clapped and cheered.
The city and fire district have worked all year toward the trade. DFPD and Durango Police Department spent decades searching for facility locations. The fire district is currently located at River City Hall, and with ownership of the building, it plans to construct a brand new fire station with adequate facilities for firefighters and other staff. DPD intends to move into the former 9-R administration building after it’s rehabilitated into a city civic center.
“Getting this going and starting that process off (is) a big step, and I think it shows the community the dedication that both boards have to getting something done,” city manager José Madrigal said.
He said negotiating the building trade hasn’t been easy. The city and fire district got off to a contentious start, but each body learned to work together for the benefit of the community.
“Going from that to getting along together and getting this done together, I think, shows a really big step in cooperation from the city to all the other partner organizations,” Madrigal said.
The city is working with a focus group led by former Durango Mayor Christina Rinderle to create a conceptual plan for the future civic center at the former 9-R administration building. Madrigal said he hopes to unveil the first of two public concepts to the public by early 2024.
“Hopefully, by the summer we’ll have wrapped up what the conceptual design is. Start getting costs so that we can put that into that 2005 sales tax reauthorization,” he said.
Deputy fire chief Randy Black, who will officially assume the role of fire chief by Monday, said he’s “thrilled” to finally make the building trade.
“It's a win for the community, a win for the police department, the fire department, the city,” he said. “I think we’re in really good shape to finally get this thing done and be able to move forward and get (new locations for DFPD and DPD).”
He said the fire district’s work on River City Hall will begin around Feb. 1, 2024.
Durango police chief Bob Brammer said the trade moves DPD a step closer to having a new location.
“We are stagnant now based off where we’re at. We can’t grow our staffing probably much more than we currently have to meet the continuing demands of the community,” he said. “ … Right now, that’s our biggest challenge. But we keep getting closer and we’re super excited about it. This is going to be a tool for us to absolutely serve this community better and make it safer than it’s ever been before.”
cburney@durangoherald.com
