Negotiations begin for Patten Street firehouse

From firehouse to police station to temporary City Hall to retail shops – that could be the sequence of uses for a vacant Patten Street property, following Wednesday night’s closed session of the Sonoma City Council.
“We’ve still got some negotiating to do,” City Manager Linda Kelly said Thursday. “We’ve been instructed to move forward with negotiations with (El Dorado Hills-based developer) Foothill Partners for the purchase of the old fire station.”
Contacted Friday, Foothill CEO Douglas Wiele confirmed the pending deal while declining to discuss particulars.
“We’re going to meet with (city) staff next week and talk about what that means,” Wiele said. “What we told the city is, we think the highest return back to the city … is a neighborhood and community serving retail use – merchants whose primary business is serving the community. That’s the kind of retail we like, and the kind we think is most appropriate.”
The 1960s-era firehouse was decommissioned in October 2002. Since then, it has housed on a temporary basis the police station and City Council chambers – and more recently, City Hall offices – during renovations at both locations.
In May, Kelly said the property held an assessment of $3.1 million, adding that a public hearing would be held before reaching any agreement.