More than four years after it closed, the former Fire Station 4 has been sold to a new owner.
The city council voted in an executive session Tuesday to sell the building, located at the corner of Airline and South McCrary roads, to Sam Livingston for $30,000, City Attorney Jeff Turnage told The Dispatch after the meeting at City Hall.
Built in 1959, the 2,862 square-foot building has sat vacant since March 2021, when Columbus Fire and Rescue opened a new station just down Airline Road. The new facility was built in part because the old station’s single-truck bay could no longer accommodate modern fire trucks.
The building deteriorated over the years, struggling with mold and HVAC issues during its last 20 years in service. Last year, a storm peeled away a section of the building’s rubber roofing, leaving a hole over the former engine bay. Quotes obtained by the city at the time estimated it would cost $25,000 to repair the damage.
The city began efforts to sell the building and the 13,000 square-foot lot it sits on in 2022. At the time, Crossroads Sober Living – a nonprofit located nearby on McCrary Road – had expressed interest in leasing the fire station to expand recovery services, but negotiations ultimately fell apart.
With no luck selling the property, the council voted to list it with local licensed broker Jeffrey Carter in October 2024.
Realtor Michael Davis, who represented Livingston in the sale, said the owner plans to put the building to practical use.
“I think he’s going to fix the hole in the roof and use it for storage,” he wrote in a text to The Dispatch.
In other business, the council:
■ granted a $18,540 request from CFR for its annual replacement of outdated fire hoses, which Chief Duane Hughes said is included in the department’s budget;
■ approved the construction of a new speed hump between 11th Avenue South and 12th Avenue South as well as two between 15th Avenue South and 16th Avenue South;
■ approved the purchase of new street signage for Friendship Cemetery, which Director Rogena Bonner said will be covered by the cemetery’s perpetual upkeep fund.
McRae is a general assignment and education reporter for The Dispatch.
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