Council OKs land purchase for downtown fire station

A new fire station officially made the list of future downtown enhancements at Tuesday's San Marcos City Council meeting.

Councilmembers passed a unanimous motion at their regular meeting Tuesday to approve a contract with 111 MLK Development, LLC for the City of San Marcos to purchase approximately 1.03 acres at 111 East Martin Luther King Drive at its intersection with LBJ Drive for the location of a future downtown fire station.

The purchasing price of the land is $4.5 million plus closing costs, according to the council agenda.

San Marcos Director of Public Safety Chase Stapp explained in a presentation that the new station would replace the existing Station One on Hutchinson Street, which “won't accommodate the appropriate firefighting apparatus needed to protect the downtown fire response zone and also can't be feasibly remodeled to do so.”

Station One falls short of “accommodating the modern needs” of a downtown fire station due to its size, Stapp said. He also pointed out that elevation and drainage difficulties are examples of the myriad issues impacting the functionality of the current station.

The project will be funded through the $7 million in funds city council has set aside via the FY 2023 Capital Improvements Plan, according to Stapp.

A construction timeline for the new building will likely be set at the next bond election.

Other decisions made at Tuesday’s meeting include council approving Resolution 2022-200R, a Chapter 380 Economic Incentive Agreement with MW Gas Lamp Industrial Park LV, LLC, providing incentives in the form of refunds of 50% of additional real property taxes for up to three years per building for the construction of industrial lease space.

The project is a joint venture between developers Majestic and Walton for speculative industrial development located on Centerpoint Road between I-35 and South Old Bastrop Highway, according to a city staff presentation.

The presentation stated that developers have laid out a 10 year plan, promising a buildout of 800,000 sq. feet in  five years and a capital investment of $41 million, and in 10 years a capital investment of $103 million. Capital investment is expected to begin in 2024 and complete by 2033.

An analysis of potential revenue indicates that the 50% tax rebate could give a maximum 270% return on incentive, where for every dollar of incentive, the city receives $2.70 in property taxes.

City council meeting agenda and minutes are available for viewing on the City of San Marcos website. To watch the full meeting, visit www.sanmarcostx.gov/421/City-Council-Videos-Archives.