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After the Menlo Park Fire Protection district closed escrow on a $4.6 million residential property next to its Almendral Avenue fire station in Atherton, the district’s chief said that it will be two decades — and possibly three — before the district will build a new fire station using the property.
District Chief Harold Schapelhouman said on June 8 that the district’s cash offer, a quick close, and willingness to allow the prior owner to stay at least 30 days helped the district beat out three other formal offers on the property.
The district’s agent, Nino Gaetano, and listing agents Maya and Jason Sewald, work for Pacific Union International.
The chief said the district has not yet inspected the home on the property, and will not do so until the current owners move out, which will not be for several months.
Chief Schapelhouman said there is no plan to tear the house down, “but we have discussed allowing it to be used by fire and/or police officers,” which the district has done with other homes purchased prior to construction of stations. He said the district may also rent out the home.
“Honestly, it’s not a high priority for us right now,” he said, “but we will absolutely make sure to maintain the property.”
The chief said the Almendral station was rebuilt after the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1998, and is one of the district’s newer stations.
However, the station is small, with one bay that vehicles must back into. The 3,600-square-foot station accommodates three firefighters, a fire engine and minimal equipment on an 11,250-square-foot lot. The new property is much larger at 39,640 square feet — nearly an acre, he said.
“The L-shaped lot conveniently wraps behind the existing Fire Station property which made it highly desirable for the fire district,” the chief said in a statement released June 8.
“Do I see a new fire station there in 10 years? No,” said the chief. “In 20 years? Maybe, if this economy and region continues to grow at its current pace,” he said.
“In thirty years? I would hope so,” he said.
The chief said it takes about 10 years to get ready to build a new station: saving and setting aside the funding, plus the design, planning, permitting and public hearing process.
Chief Schapelhouman said the purchase is considered “strategic” by the district because the combined lot size will allow the district to build a “more functional station.”
Board president and Atherton resident Peter Carpenter said in a statement: “I want to assure the neighbors and community that while acquisition was a high priority, major change and development are many, many years away.”
Mr. Carpenter said the purchase was “an incredible opportunity with a once in a blue moon availability, but it is not of immediate necessity.”
He said the district may open up the parking area to the rear of station and add some storage capability in the next year.
The chief said the Atherton station is the fire district’s sixth busiest, responding to 770 emergency incidents in 2016. The district operates seven stations serving Menlo Park, East Palo Alto, Atherton and adjoining unincorporated areas of San Mateo County.
See an earlier story about the purchase.
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