Now obsolete as a fire station, the future of a historic Gray building is the topic of discussion between business owners and officials.

“It’s a great opportunity for the community to have more possibilities for small businesses, or just business in general,” said Gaynelle Lane, owner of Main Street Beauty Salon in Gray, about the Main Street building constructed in 1837.

The Gray Town Council voted in February to allow the town to enter into a lease purchase agreement of the Walker Tire building on Route 100 to be used as a satellite public safety building, since the location and antiquated amenities of the Gray Village fire station make its use impractical.

With voter approval in June, the town could buy the building this summer. The building is now owned by Dana Walker.

Gray Town Councilor Tracy Scheckel said she has been working on a request for proposal to start attracting interest in the Gray Village station.

Scheckel said the sale of the old station depends partially on the availability of grant funds. Town Manager Deborah Cabana applied on behalf of Gray to Cumberland County Office of Community Development for a $150,000 downtown revitalization project that may make businesses in Gray Village more accessible to pedestrians and allow for more parking.

Since parking at the Gray Village fire station is limited now, improvements made through the grant would make the building more attractive to potential buyers.

On Thursday, town officials learned that the application review committee for the county recommended Gray receive at least $85,000 for the project, and $135,000 at the most. The Gray Municipal Oversight Committee is expected to accept the recommendations and submit them to the county commissioners for final approval.

Gray Fire Chief Rick Plummer said the new public safety building, built in 1995, needed only minor cleaning and fit the department’s needs perfectly as is. The town planned to build a new satellite public safety building anyway, since most fire trucks do not fit through the Gray Village station doors, when the opportunity to lease the Walker Tire building conveniently came up. Plummer said the new location is more accessible to areas of south Gray.

Plummer pointed out that the town is not adding another public safety building, but replacing the existing Gray Village station.

Many people incorrectly believe the Gray Village station has been vacant for some time now, said Plummer. There are three stations in town, including the Gray Village station, the central station on Shaker Road, and the Dry Mills area station.

The Walker Tire building is equipped with two doors, identical to those that would be constructed if the town built a new public safety building, and the fire department will be moving trucks and other equipment to the new station within the next week or so, said Plummer.

A request for proposal is a way of to screen interest in a building or property to ensure the buyer will respect the town’s interest in the building. George Thebarge, a planning consultant for the town of Gray, said towns will often use this method of sale when an historic building, like the fire station, is in question.

“There’s an historic value to it, so we need to make sure (future owners) are being good stewards,” said Council Chair Deborah Mancini.

Jean Szendrei, curator at the Gray Historical Society, said the building has a rich history that should be respected.

“We hope that it would be preserved on the exterior as it is right now,” said Szendrei, who said the building was built by Samuel Mayall II as the Gray’s original town hall, and has been used for several purposes over the decades.

According to Todd Goodheart, owner of Goody’s Pizza just next door to the fire station, Gray will need to make improvements in order to attract a buyer. Goodheart said the only business that has been able to survive on that block is the pizza shop, which has been open since the 1970s.

“I don’t believe any type of business can survive on this block. If (the revitalization project) was to happen, then of course, all these spots would be filled,” said Goodheart, referring to vacant neighboring spaces.

“This whole block is up for sale. Nobody is grabbing,” said Goodheart.

That block, known as the Clark Block, may be in a depressed state at this point, but Thebarge said with improvements, those buildings could bring substantial economic change to the town.

“Those properties are key to the revitalization of the downtown area,” said Thebarge.

Gray Fire Chief Gary Plummer said many in town believe the Village Fire Station is not in use by the department. That will soon be true as the department moves to a leased space, and redevelopment of the building is now being discussed.