CAL-Fire looks at Anderson site for Shasta-Trinity Unit headquarters relocation

A vacant Anderson building, originally intended for a Kenworth truck dealership in 2008, is drawing some fresh interest from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

The South County site is being viewed as a possible replacement for the 1930s-era Shasta-Trinity Unit headquarters on Cypress Avenue in Redding, CAL-Fire officials said Tuesday, March 9.

“To my knowledge, we have not made an offer but we do have an interest in the building,” said Kelly Dreesmann, a CAL-Fire assistant Chief and capital outlay coordinator for the agency’s Shasta-Trinity Unit.

“It is one of several pieces of property we are looking at as we prepare to replace our unit headquarters,” Dreesmann said.

Ken Miller, a Realtor associated with Coldwell Banker Commercial C&C Properties and one of two agents handling matters for the Oregon-based owners, confirmed Tuesday that California Department of General Services representatives as well as CAL-Fire officials had looked at the property recently.

“They have been looking at it and we know it isn’t the only piece of property they are looking at,” Miller said.

CAL-Fire officials said Tuesday they are especially interested in the six-bay truck service building -- originally valued by the City of Anderson at $3,129,425 -- that sits on the west side of Interstate 5, just south of Auto Mall Drive.

The 37,776-square-foot metal and concrete commercial building and the 6.63 acres it occupies is currently listed at $5.35 million.

“I did submit a budget change proposal for the 2010-2011 fiscal year that begins July 1, so we are quite a ways out from having any money with which to make an offer,” said Dreesmann, who helped draft the budget change proposal.

CAL-Fire has also looked at the former 84 Lumber property at the intersection of Highway 44 and Old Oregon Trail east of Redding, Dreesmann said, but the owner of that property is interested only in a long-term lease, not an outright sale of property that the state requires.

CAL-Fire intends to purchase enough room to adequately house the unit’s repair facility and work space for up to 50 people currently housed in a cluster of old buildings on approximately 4 acres, Dreesmann said.

“When we originally built there in the 1930s, that was considered on the edge of town. Since then, we have maxed out the power there several times and most of the other utilities are insufficient for our needs. We are really looking to get out of the center of Redding,” Dreesmann said of the Cypress Avenue property next to Redding’s City Hall.

Redding city officials have had their eye on CAL-Fire's downtown campus for some time, counting among its possible uses the site of a new police department headquarters or the $221 million State Courts facility that has since been pegged for two sites closer to the Shasta County Jail and existing court facilities.

“I’d certainly encourage CAL-Fire to consider Anderson if at all possible,” said Les Baugh, Shasta County Supervisor whose District 5 includes Anderson.