Vacant Fire Station – Flooding Solution or Real Estate Opportunity?

Waukesha’s former Fire Station No. 2 has sat vacant at 1701 Stardust Drive after the Now at least one alderman wants to see the vacant building sold.

Alderman Roger Patton thinks the property is ideal for real estate or a day care center complete with “a jungle gym like McDonald’s.”

“I think it is a valuable asset that the city has that could be rezoned and sold,” Patton told the Plan Commission Wednesday night.

Patton may have to wait. City procedure for property sales is to first examine if there is a need by other city departments for the vacant property. The Public Works Department would like to research the possibility of using the property for stormwater mitigation, according to interim City Administrator Steve Crandell.

“There are some flooding issues in the area,” Crandell told the Plan Commission.

Alderman Vance Skinner, who also sits on the Plan Commission, questioned if there were other sites under consideration. Crandell confirmed there are other locations in the area that are being looked at.

“This is obviously a lucrative spot,” said Skinner about the property. The former fire station sits at East Moreland Boulevard and Highway 164 — a busy thoroughfare in the city.

The Plan Commission’s recommendation to the Common Council is that the land not be considered surplus for sale while the Public Works Department studies flooding issues in the area. But as the issue moves to the Common Council, Patton’s not keen on using the property for stormwater mitigation.

“I just think that it is too nice of building to be torn down and to dig a hole in the building for a catch basin,” Patton said.