Moline approves three property purchases to advance new central fire station project
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Summary
Council approved three purchase-and-sale agreements totaling $753,500 to acquire sites near Seventh Street as the city moves forward with planning and design for a replacement central fire station, a multi-year project budgeted so new debt will replace retiring debt without raising property taxes.
Moline City Council voted unanimously to authorize three property purchases the city says are needed to develop a replacement central fire station.
City staff told council the existing central fire station, built in 1972 and later modified, requires extensive repairs and that a study had identified the Seventh Street/Sixteenth Avenue area as the preferred replacement neighborhood. "The study did reveal at that time that the building required at that time anywhere between 8 to $9,000,000 worth of repair," City staff member Mr. Vitas told council, citing failing HVAC systems and recent water damage near city IT equipment.
The purchases approved were: a contract with Metropolitan Towers LLC for 1500 and 1508 Seventh Street for $705,500; a purchase of an unimproved parcel near Seventh Street and Sixteenth Avenue from 833 Sixteenth Avenue IL Owner LLC for $48,000; and a purchase from Hybrid Medical Group LLC for 1410 Seventh Street for $460,000. Council moved each resolution by roll call; those measures carried with recorded "aye" votes from the eight members present.
Why it matters: Staff said the city will spend about a year on architecture, engineering and design after acquisitions close and that the financing schedule was planned so the new debt would replace retiring general-fund debt, avoiding a property-tax increase. Mr. Vitas said FGMA (the city's selected architect) will return to work with a project working group once properties are secured.
Council discussion and context: Several council members emphasized the project's long history and operational need. Alderman Timmian noted the council had discussed replacing the central station for years and praised the staff's fiscal planning. Alderman Castro and Alderman Schmidt said renovating the existing station would have been a short-term fix and that a new location should improve response times and coverage. "The ability to secure a site that's going to give us better response times and better coverage is ... going to save people's lives," Schmidt said.
The council and staff described site-selection work that considered a Butterworth Park area and an alternate park parcel before settling on the Seventh/Sixteenth corridor because of subsurface and access constraints at other sites. Staff said the design process will consider a one- or two-story building and that the project schedule aligns with previously budgeted debt capacity in 2026–27.
Next steps: Staff said closings were expected in April and that the city would return with design-team work and a more detailed timeline once property acquisitions are final. No tax increase was proposed tied to the project; staff said debt timing would keep property-tax impact neutral.
Ending: With the purchases authorized, the city will move into the design phase of a multi-year capital project to replace the central fire station.
