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Popular Ashland cafe slated for destruction By John Darling ASHLAND � The city is aiming for an autumn demolition of its old firehouse and the adjacent Blue Mountain Cafe, one of the town�s most popular gathering spots, in preparation for building a new $3.14 million fire station. The city offered building owners Alan and Phil Kaufman the appraised price of $415,000 for the building, but the owners declined the offer. Attorneys for both sides are in negotiations over the price, said city Administrator Greg Scoles. If an agreement can�t be reached, the city has the option, recently approved by the City Council, of condemning the property, paying the appraised price and taking possession. "We never wanted to sell the property," said Alan Kaufman, an Ashland real estate broker. "It�s a unique property with access on two big streets. We know the city has the power to make us sell it, but their offer isn�t even close to market value." He declined to state his estimate of its value. "The heart of the matter is that we�ve been very disappointed with the way the city has treated us," he said. "The city has one opinion of the value of the property and there was never any negotiation with them. We�ve got other opinions of the value, but the city disregards them. The city has only met with us two or three times." The $415,000 appraisal, done at the request of the owners, was $35,000 higher than one done last year. Both sides agreed on Southern Oregon Appraisal Services of Ashland to do the job. As required by law, the city has appointed a "relocation specialist" to help cafe owner David Frye reestablish business elsewhere, Scoles said. The law also requires the city to pay the cost of relocation, estimated at $25,000, but not the value of the business. Frye could not be reached for comment on whether he planned to reopen the Blue Mountain elsewhere. Meanwhile, the cafe remains open. The city has agreed to give Frye 90 days� notice before demolition. When demolition starts, crews and equipment from Ashland�s main fire station will relocate to the city�s B Street yard for a year and occupy a metal utility building which the street/maintenance department happened to be building for its own use, said Fire Chief Keith Woodley. Staff will work in adjacent modular units, he said. "We�ll be close to everything there," he said. "We�ll be fine. We�re pretty resilient. We�re used to dealing with adverse situations." Voters approved the $3.14 million bond issue for the new fire station last November. The Fire Department has occupied the small, one-time gas station at Siskiyou Boulevard and East Main Street for 47 years. The new fire station be 13,000 to 15,000 square feet, almost three times the size of the present structure. Preliminary plans released recently include two additional vehicle bays, a training room, individual dorm rooms, air conditioning, brick courtyard with benches, public rest rooms and a two-story atrium with glass ceiling. A parking lot will be located where the Blue Mountain now stands. Plans for the building, designed by Peck, Smiley and Ettlin Architects of Portland, are being reviewed by the Ashland Historic Commission and a design committee of local builders, architects, city officials and residents. They may be viewed at "projects" on www.- psearchs.com. Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA