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Nonprofits eye former Medford fire station Tuesday Jan 16, 2018 at 5:49 PM Jan 16, 2018 at 6:38 PM Damian Mann Mail Tribune @reporterdm A former fire station in west Medford is a hot property for three local nonprofit organizations, each with its own vision of turning the structure into a center to serve the poor or homeless. ACCESS Inc., Rogue Valley Youth for Christ and Rogue Retreat have expressed interest in the 2,219-square-foot, 1950s-era Fire Station No. 2 at the corner of West Eighth and Lincoln streets. "The kids are in trouble in that neighborhood," said Matt Sweeney of Youth for Christ. "The neighborhood is in trouble." Sweeney and the other two organizations want to provide services in the neighborhood, which struggles with poverty and crime. The fire station was emptied last May when Medford Fire-Rescue moved into a new building on Stewart Avenue. Youth for Christ wants to remodel the building at a cost of up to $400,000 and allow four other nonprofits to provide programs that help steer kids away from gangs. The organization has offered to spend $12,000 up front to fix a leaky roof and provide $1 a year for the lease. Youth for Christ also would potentially add onto the building. Sweeney said the neighborhood has the most gang problems in the city, and three nearby schools have the highest number of at-risk children — Washington Elementary, Jackson Elementary and McLoughlin Middle School. ACCESS wants to spend almost $1 million on staff, programs and upgrades to the building over a multiyear period to turn it into a community center to guide the poor as they look for housing, temporary shelter, food and health care. The anticipated lease costs to the city over a four-year period would be $38,400. Rogue Retreat wants to spruce up the building but leave it in its current configuration, converting the living quarters used by firefighters into bedrooms, bathrooms and a kitchen for eight men. The lease would be $2,000 a month or less, depending on how much of the maintenance costs would be borne by the city. The proposals also include an option to buy the building from the city, and the Medford City Council will further review them before making a decision. Last week, the council received briefings on the proposals from the organizations. Chad McComas of Rogue Retreat said all the proposals offered to the city are good, and the other two organizations are important to the community. But, he said, the other two proposals could easily be located in a commercial area, while Rogue Retreat's proposal would fit in with the surrounding neighborhood. "We're having such a housing crisis," he said. "Why take living quarters and turn it into some other use?" McComas said the men staying in the fire station, which would be called Harold's Haven, would already have undergone treatment for addiction. "We would provide a safe place for them to be while they're finding jobs," he said. Pamela Norr, executive director of ACCESS, said the fire station would be better situated to serve community residents, including having a place for people to pick up and drop off used medical equipment. ACCESS, which is located near the airport, and other organizations would partner with the community resource center to provide a variety of services to help the poor. "It is certainly a well-placed location for outreach to the community," Norr said. Neighbors have written letters of support for ACCESS's proposal, Norr said. The hours of operation would be during the day, she said. She said ACCESS plans to renovate the building, including turning the former engine bay into a location for the medical equipment. "The front driveway would be a great location for our mobile food pantry," she said. — Reach reporter Damian Mann at 541-776-4476 or [email protected]. Follow him on www.twitter.com/reporterdm.