OLDS - The former Olds fire hall is planned to be put back into permanent operation possibly by this fall as three community groups are set to take occupancy.
The Town of Olds council gave administration the approval last week to negotiate a lease with Mountain View Food Bank, the Olds and District Hospice Society, and the Community Lending Shelf for the building at 4829 50th Street.
Terms could include a nominal annual lease for a term of about 50 years with flexibility to review periodically or when circumstances change.
While the Town of Olds would maintain ownership of the property, leaseholders would be responsible for operating and maintenance costs.
The municipality had been unable to sell the property for the last three years.
As indicated in a report analyzing suitability of the space for the three organizations, the former fire hall sits on the site of a former fuel station. The former fire hall was built in 1979 on the contaminated soil.
A Phase II environmental site assessment confirmed the presence of hydrocarbons in the soil and a 2019 cost estimate for remediation was approximately $600,000.
Administration noted that the East Olds Area Redevelopment Plan has essentially rezoned the property from its original, and most feasible, use of light industrial to commercial, making it unavailable for those businesses that would require six automotive bays, such as mechanic and autobody shops.
The existing building is two storeys, contains a mix of offices, double height truck bays, kitchen and multi purpose areas.
By leasing out the building, the Town of Olds estimates about $15,000 in annual savings through utilities, insurance and the financial cost of facilities and public works staff time.
All three organizations are currently housed elsewhere in the community.
“All three have unique operations and unique needs but from administration's point of view, the value of this proposal is significant in that it provides homes, much more visible homes to three in-need organizations to serve in two cases the people most at need in our society and in hospice’s case, people facing perhaps the most difficult time in their lives,” said the town’s chief administrative officer Brent Williams.
Williams said it is hoped at least one of the three organizations will be in the former fire hall by the end of September.
A shared project manager has been engaged and the test fit report analyzing suitability of the space for the three organizations will be used to as the basis for further work.
Mountain View Food Bank will require more of a building retrofit than the hospice society, Williams said, whereas the top floor of the building where the Community Lending Shelf will be would be waiting for renovations to be finished on an adjacent side.
“The repurposing of this underutilized brownfield property into a space to serve our most in-need vulnerable residents demonstrates the shared commitment between the Town of Olds and our non-profit partners to enhance the social well-being and support capacity for our town and region,” administration said in a briefing note to council.
