PORT ANGELES — A Port Angeles woman last week withdrew her offer to buy the historic former fire hall on Lincoln Street property.
City officials said they have no other offers for the 82-year-old building at 215 S. Lincoln St.
The offer was made in August by Port Angeles resident Jean Rickerson, according to city emails obtained by the Peninsula Daily News through a public records request.
Rickerson offered to pay $5 for the building and work with investors she had lined up to fund its restoration.
“I prefer not to comment on why I withdrew my bid,” Rickerson said Thursday, later referring to “influences around the city that were going to make this a very difficult project for me.”
A study by the city and Clallam County showed the building would cost about $2.2 million to completely restore, said Nathan West, the city’s community and economic development director.
Improvements needed
The building would need numerous improvements, including removal of asbestos and other hazardous materials, a new roof, a parapet and a stabilized foundation, city officials have said.
The city has made clear it would not be able to fund restoration, West has said, though it does want to ensure any future buyer would be able to follow through with the work.
“The city is very interested in insuring that any future purchaser of the property be committed to the building’s historic integrity,” West said in an email Thursday.
The building, which has housed a number of restaurants in recent years, is part of the Port Angeles Historic District that includes Veterans Memorial Park, Museum at the Carnegie and the original Clallam County Courthouse.
Rickerson said she envisioned using the entire building as a museum, similar to the nearby Carnegie building, or splitting the two floors of the fire hall between public space and a private business.
Rickerson said she also would have been willing to work with other groups wanting to inhabit the 6,238-square-foot building once it was restored.
‘Unfortunate
West said it was unfortunate that Rickerson withdrew her offer.
“We’re very grateful for Ms. Rickerson for her interest in investing in Port Angeles, and we will be in touch with her to express our gratitude for her interest [in] belonging to our very important historic district,” West said.
City planning staff will continue to discuss the next steps forward with regard to the building, West said.
“We’ll likely bring something forward to the [city] Real Estate Committee in the near future that proposes a next course of action,” West said.
The committee, an advisory group to the City Council, meets at 4:30 p.m. the first Monday of every month in the Jack Pittis conference room in City Hall, 321 E. Fifth St.
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Reporter Jeremy Schwartz can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5074, or at jschwartz@peninsuladailynews.com.
