By Corina Vanek | Arizona Republic
Phoenix officials are hoping to snag a developer interested in turning a long vacant firehouse into a restaurant.
The firehouse south of Margaret T. Hance Park in downtown Phoenix was built in 1951, but it hasn’t operated as a fire station since the 1970s. The city has used the building for storage and some events, but they’re hoping the growing restaurant and bar scene in the Roosevelt Row Arts District could mean new life for the building.
The 32-acre Hance Park sits atop Interstate 10’s Deck Park Tunnel, just west of Central Avenue between McDowell Road and Roosevelt Street. The vacant station is at the southern edge of the park.
“It’s an incredible setting and an opportunity to pay homage to a really cool building,” said Xandon Keating, deputy director of Phoenix community and economic development.