Former Salisbury Fire Department headquarters downtown to become next home for city offices

After a unanimous vote by the Salisbury City Council in favor of a lease agreement, the historic fire department headquarters building downtown will become the new home for some city offices.

The property owned by Devreco at 115 S. Division St., which has been the home of Delmarva Now and The Daily Times since 2017, will house the city’s administrative suite; city clerk; Department of Arts, Business and Culture to include the Downtown Visitor Center; and City Council Chambers. These offices will move from their current locations at 125 and 110 N. Division St. in the coming months. Delmarva Now and The Daily Times is transitioning to a remote workspace as news and other industries realize the benefits of flexible work options.

“This exciting move will not only allow us to develop our events team and downtown presence, but will more importantly allow necessary expansion within suites in the Government Office Building at 125 North Division St.,” said Mayor Jack Heath. “The current Government Office Building has been the city’s main administrative building since it was built in the 1970s, and a lot about our operations has changed since then. Through this move, each department in the Government Office Building will get a much needed — and long overdue — expansion."

Heath added plans include upgrades to improve "workspace and maximize productivity."

A portion of the first floor of the building will house City Council Chambers, a large room which will transform into community flex space with the capability to expand to the parking lot and street for events and other medium-scale community gatherings. According to the city, more information on how to use this community space will be forthcoming.

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This lease is possible using funds that were originally planned for a new administrative building at the Field Operations Campus, per a city release. Due to rising costs of building materials making construction of a new building financially irresponsible, city leadership had the opportunity "to reevaluate the utilization of those funds."

Improvements are underway at Field Operations to rehabilitate a number of buildings to ensure a continued focus of all employees across the organization, the city's release stated, and city officials are not renewing the lease at 110 N. Division St., currently the Downtown Visitor Center.

The building's historic past

The building, built in 1928, housed the Salisbury Fire Department until 2008. The department underwent many historic changes during this time, including the introduction of EMS service in 1939 and receiving its first fully enclosed fire engine in 1988.

The Salisbury Fire Department responded to many notable fires from this station, including the 1977 fire at the Wicomico County Youth & Civic Center and the 1975 fire at the Feldman’s department store.

Devreco, the building’s owner, turned the old fire station into a music venue called Headquarters Live after the city department moved into a new fire headquarters building in 2008. Headquarters Live was open from 2013-2017.

The building’s unique location in downtown Salisbury, the city noted, is central to key cultural spaces, including the Riverwalk Amphitheater, Riverwalk Games Park and more, and will act as a hub for events crews, performers and staff during downtown events like the Maryland Folk Festival, 3rd Friday and more.

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The current tenants, Delmarva Now and The Daily Times, will vacate the building at the end of March.

"The Daily Times and Delmarva Now are officially moving to a virtual office as our lease expires. We have used a flexible workspace for more than three years so this will be a seamless transition for our staff," said Executive Editor Laura Benedict Sileo. "We are committed to our community and our local coverage."

Benedict Sileo noted she is pleased the daily newspaper could be part of the building's long history.

This article originally appeared on Salisbury Daily Times: Salisbury moving offices to old fire department headquarers downtown