The City of Moscow has passed the resolution for the sale of the police station on 118 E. Fourth St. to the University of Idaho.
UI proposed to purchase the soon-to-be former police station for the price of $975,000. However, there will be a public hearing Aug. 2, before the sale.
Garry Riedner, City Supervisor, spoke during the city council meeting on July 6, about the reasons for the sale.
Originally, the old police station was to be used for new office spaces. In March, Moscow City council approved the purchase of the Haddock Building instead. This was an alternative to remodeling the police station to accommodate city office spaces, as purchasing the Haddock would be more cost-effective than renovations.
“At the cost of $875,000 plus remodeling cost, it would still cost the city less than $1.55 million, which was estimated to remodel the Fourth Street facility,” said Riedner.
UI has been looking for a building to purchase since last year. This is part of the university’s plan to reinvest in the downtown area.
“We have been talking about reinvestment since we began the hard work to correct our spending two years ago,” said UI President Scott Green. “We are now at a point where strategic investment in our university and the communities we serve makes sense. Purchasing this building allows us to grow our presence in downtown Moscow and better serve the public.”
Toni Broyles, the special assistant to the president, said UI will turn the police station into an art gallery and vandal store.
“The Prichard is a University of Idaho name, so it will be the Prichard that will move into the new space,” said Broyles. “The new space is large enough that we want to provide square footage, especially on the highway side, for some retail opportunity.”
Broyles also spoke on the public hearing that will occur, stating that they are not anticipating any problems.
Daniel V. Ramirez can be reached at [email protected] or Twitter @DVR_Tweets