SOUTH GATE : Bidding War Erupts Over Ex-Fire Station
A bidding war has begun for ownership of Fire Station 52, a property that has stood vacant and neglected for nearly a decade.
St. Francis Medical Center bid $75,000 for the property after Pasadena-based Southland Leasing and Development Corp. recently made the city an undisclosed offer to buy the building and renovate it as affordable housing for senior citizens. Public Works Director James Biery said the raw property is worth about $200,000.
The medical center had proposed earlier that the city turn over the fire station property as a gift for use as a community health clinic. The Commission for South Gate Youth also asked to be given the property, in hopes of creating a youth recreation center.
City officials “made it clear that we weren’t going to go anywhere if we asked for the property as a gift,” said St. Francis Vice President Ron Dahlgren. “We were basically told we were not going to be in the running.”
Dahlgren said the center would offer free screenings for cholesterol and tuberculosis, immunizations for children and other services as part of its proposal.
Southland Leasing initially was the only applicant willing to pay for the property.
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