An Old South Dallas Fire Station for Sale and Other Stuff Robert Wilonsky Deemed ‘surplus Property' This Week

Here's the latest edition of Robert Wilonsky's Most Dallas Newsletter Ever. Enter your email address to subscribe below.Want to buy an old fire station? South Dallas would appreciate it.So I see the Dallas ISD has mowed its Field of Weeds in South Dallas, behind James Madison High School. Thank God for small miracles and pesky newsletters. Now, on to another source of blight in the shadow of Fair Park — this one of the city's making. Otherwise known as the ghost of Fire Station No. 44, it's at the intersection of Frank and Lagow streets. The old firehouse opened in 1959 and shuttered in 2016 when the city finished up the replacement station a mile away. I drove past the husk of old 44 last week and noticed the clothing left behind by the homeless people who residents say often sleep there, beneath the patio cover or along the side. A woman who works at a nearby church said they've tried to buy the building from the city, but were told The Taxpayers might have future uses for it. As a weed farm (not THAT kind of weed farm, sadly, but stay tuned for future legislative sessions!) from the looks of it. Though I do recall some conversations about maybe turning it into a Dallas Animal Services satellite. I emailed City Hall and asked what gives. At which point spokesperson Nichelle Sullivan reminded me: The City Council voted April 24 to have the firehouse declared "unwanted and unneeded" surplus property. "Staff anticipates this property going to auction in July 2019," she wrote. "Before being declared as surplus property, it had a series of holds at the request of several departments for possible city use, including Dallas Animal Services, Equipment & Fleet Management, and Office of Homeless Solutions." Which reminds me: Another surplus property is going up for auction again, on May 30 -- the swath of Forest Lane near the Dallas North Tollway where the city once hoped to plant that replacement Preston Royal Branch Library that never will be. The city paid about $2.6 million for it. Suckers. The city tried to sell that site in January. But the high bidder didn't hit the reserve price. Last month, the council voted to reject the high bid and start over. That auction is May 30.Split it with you. Recent Columns in Case You Missed Them  Continue reading...