STATION 1 WILL GET MAKEOVER OR MOVE

Colorado Springs' downtown fire station will stay at Colorado Avenue and Weber Street, but it will either get a major makeover or be replaced if the existing buildings are moved.

City officials have been hunting for months for a new location downtown for Station 1, which dates to the 1920s.

Fire Chief Manny Navarro said Monday the station will remain on the northeast corner of Weber and Colorado because the city was unable to find an appropriate lot for a decent price.

"It's a good lot," he said of the current site. "Problem is, there's old buildings on it."

Station 1 needs to be replaced because it's outdated and needs to be expanded to include four bays, Navarro said. He said the station - - home to Truck Company 1, Engine 1 and a district fire chief office -- has been remodeled or rehabilitated four or five times in 15 years.

But the nearly centuryold building could live on in another downtown location, Navarro said. Developers have expressed interest in moving it elsewhere for a different use, such as a restaurant.

If someone steps forward, the city would sell the buildings for $1, he said. The buyer would pay moving costs.

"If we can't make a good business deal, we're adding on to it," Navarro said.

Fennell Group of Colorado Springs has been hired to design Fire Station 1, estimated to cost $6 million, and also Stetson Ridge Fire Station 21 in the Woodmen Road and Powers Boulevard area, which will cost $4 million.

Station 1's construction will get under way next year, with Stations 2 and 3 providing service in Station 1's territory during construction, Navarro said.

The city's first fire station was in the City Administration Building block at Nevada and Colorado avenues. Station 1 was its second.

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