The Long Beach City Council could approve an 18-month lease extension Tuesday for Fire Station 9’s temporary location. Under the new deal, the city’s rent payment would quadruple on the space that’s needed until a permanent station is built.
Council members approved a three-year lease in 2020 that put the Fire Station 9 resources at an old Boeing employee fitness center near Cherry Avenue and Wardlow Road. That deal cost the city $10,000 per month, but under the new agreement, the monthly payment could be $40,000, according to a city memo.
The 18-month contract could cost the Fire Department $720,000 through March 2025. The city memo says that both the old rate and the new proposed monthly lease are below market rate for similar properties.
The city has not identified a source of funding for the $535,000 total increase, but it could pay for it using Measure A funds or additional money that could come in before the end of the year.
The original Fire Station 9, which serves the Los Cerritos area, was permanently closed in 2019 due to recurring mold issues, and the city has sought a permanent home for the department’s resources for years.
In January, the City Council approved plans for a new Fire Station 9, which is expected to be built just a few blocks north of the old station at 4101 Long Beach Boulevard. However, the city still needs to figure out how to pay for the project, which is expected to cost over $20 million.
The city could issue bonds to ultimately pay for the construction, something the city memo said is expected to be completed by 2025.
The city is still trying to sell the former Fire Station 9 site and announced in March that it would seek out a broker to help with the process.