City putting deed restrictions on sale of fire station

FINDLAY — The city of Findlay plans to impose deed restrictions to protect the historic old Northside Fire Station, located at 401 N. Main St. The fire station was built in 1909, and is set to be sold. "While there are no formal requirements that bind the city to preserve it as a historic structure, we fully intend to include deed restrictions that will require any future owner to maintain the integrity and 'bones' of the building," said Service-Safety Director Rob Martin. Owned by the city since 1934, the building was utilized as a fire station for years before housing the city's traffic department. Martin later reported the building was used for storage after the traffic department was relocated "due to a significant sanitary line failure beneath the building" in 2019. Recently, the building was assessed as a historical property through a partnership between the city, the Hancock Historical Museum and Heritage Ohio, which highlighted several structural issues in the building that need to be addressed to ensure preservation, including water infiltration, paint and masonry deterioration. "Over the past several years, the administration has discussed the future of the property and concluded that it would be better served by another entity," Martin said. While the building has not been sold and is not currently for sale, Findlay City Council heard the first reading of legislation regarding the rezoning of the building as "C-3 Downtown Commercial" instead of its current classification of "C-2 General Commercial." The change would void the current number of parking space requirements. Findlay Mayor Christina Muryn has said the change is needed to allow the building to be open to its "highest and best use." Martin would not comment on whether the city plans to address the issues detailed in the historical survey before selling the building. He said that decision would have to be addressed by council. Editor's note: This story has been corrected to report the accurate year of the current building's construction and the accurate name of the Hancock Historic Museum.