The city of Durango and Durango Fire Protection District have reached a tentative deal for a swap of the 9-R Administration Building owned by DFPD and the city’s River City Hall building currently leased and occupied by the fire district.

The deal must be approved by Durango City Council and the DFPD board of directors. A special meeting is scheduled for 10 a.m. May 30 at the fire district's Station 1 at 142 Sheppard Drive.

If approved by both boards, the two entities would trade ownership of the buildings and the city would additionally pay $3,586,275 to the fire district, a city news release says.

The city and DFPD hired Bob Allen, of the appraisal group Allen & Associates, to determine fair market values of the properties. In the news release, he said the city’s offer of $3.6 million is fair based on several factors.

The Colorado Department of Transportation’s appraised value of River City Hall is $3.9 million. The fire district paid $6.9 million for the 9-R Administration Building and the attached Big Picture High School facility in December 2021, he said. And parkland on the River City Hall property will be maintained by the city.

Hal Doughty, DFPD fire chief, said the city will need to subdivide the property because a portion of the Animas River Trail and a small park, Veterans Park, are not included in the trade and will remain city property.

Although DFPD’s Station 2 currently resides at River City Hall, for years Doughty has said the facility is in poor shape and needs major upgrades. The fire district purchased the 9-R administration building with the intent of moving its downtown facility there, but plans changed after determining that the facility is too large to house a fire station alone.

A joint police and fire station was considered, but in January Doughty said River City Hall is the best place for a new and improved station, and also noted bringing Durango Police Department to River City Hall wouldn’t be possible without major disruptions to nearby businesses.

Meanwhile, the city was eyeing the 9-R Administration Building as the potential home for a new civic center.

“Oh, man, I'm excited,” Doughty said about the deal. “But I'm also, you know, cautiously optimistic.”

If city and fire officials approve the proposed trade, the fire district will be able to finally replace its downtown fire station and improve working and living conditions for firefighters. And the city will be able to upgrade into a bigger facility at the 9-R Administration Building, he said.

“Which they're desperately in need of because they're out of room at the current City Hall,” he said. “Their police station is in such bad shape.”

He added the deal will be a “huge benefit” to the community, which is the main point of exploring options to begin with.

José Madrigal, city manager, said he is also excited with the deal and the opportunity to preserve the 9-R Administration Building for historical purposes and its continued use. But, there is a long way to go.

If City Council and the fire board approve the trade, public input hearings about design features of the 9-R Administration Building will be needed, he said. But the initial deal is a nice and necessary first step.

Doughty said the fire district and the city likely would have preferred to get more money or value for their respective properties, but the proposed building swap and payment by the city are signs of a fair negotiation.

“Each one of us absolutely believes that we can improve our service to the community by moving in the direction of acquiring these new properties,” he said. “And I think that we have the opportunity to be absolutely transparent with the public on exactly how that looks now that the negotiations (are finished).”

In something resembling a big game of musical chairs, the city, fire district and school district are trying to rotate offices and staff into buildings occupied or owned by one another.

The fire district plans to stay at River City Hall, but the city wants to move out of City Hall and relocate offices from the Carnegie Building across the street from the 9-R Administration building at 201 East 12th St. 9-R administrative staff was originally scheduled to vacate in July, but that didn’t happen, and the school district currently leases the building from DFPD for about $120,000 per year. It hasn’t yet identified a new facility, Doughty said.

But the school district is considering at least one option. Madrigal said the school district has expressed interest in moving into the Carnegie Building across the street.

“There’s a lot of moving pieces with this,” he said. “The second step is the long-discussed, if possible, Buckley Park and Carnegie Building (swap).”

cburney@durangoherald.com