The Haitian Community Help and Support Center plans to use part of the building for classrooms to provide driver’s education and English as a second language courses.
The center has offered $275,000 for the property, which officials say has 9,500 square feet and is located on 0.34 acres.
At a city commission meeting, City Commissioner Krystal Brown asked if consideration had been given to converting the fire station for use as a homeless shelter. City Manager Bryan Heck said there are challenges to adapting the fire station — as well as two others that will soon come on line for retirement as construction is completed on new city fire houses — but that it’s worth consideration.
“These fire stations were built so long ago they are not ADA compliant, they have only a single unisex bathroom, and sleeping quarters would require modification to meet current standards,” Heck noted — all among the reasons the new fire houses are being constructed.
Commissioner Bridget Houston asked if there were state or federal dollars being used for the purchase of the property, and was advised that the Haitian Community Help and Support Center is a nonprofit funded entirely by donations, so taxpayer dollars are not involved in the sale.
City officials had originally posted the firehouse for sale at an appraised price of $500,000 but received no offers. Heck suggested the appraisal was based largely on the square footage of the facility. He noted that several other organizations looked at the station for possible purchase — including the Clark County Combined Health District, the adjacent Fulton School, and Clark County Juvenile Court Services — but found it would not meet their needs.
The Haitian Community Help and Support Center declined to comment on the purchase, citing the ongoing nature of the sale.
Credit: Bill Lackey
Credit: Bill Lackey
The center’s operations are currently located at 1530 S. Yellow Springs St., a one-stop-shop for resources for Haitian immigrants. It is in the same location as a large Haitian church.
The center sees a large number of people seeking services, such as help setting up and maintaining accounts with Columbia Gas and Ohio Edison, obtaining food stamps, Medicaid, work permits and car insurance.
Many people and organizations refer Haitian immigrants to the center to assist with direct assistance or direction to the right place.
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