Sycamore’s top employee said the city does not yet have a certain plan for the future of Sycamore’s former Fire Station No. 1 building.

City officials have not yet shared what, if any, plans they have for the now former Fire Station No. 1 building at 535 DeKalb Ave.

Sycamore City Manager Michael Hall told Shaw Local in an email on Jan. 7 that there are no immediate plans to retrofit the building for a different use. A month later, he said nothing had changed.

“In the short term, the City’s focus would be on securing the building and maintaining it in a safe condition while options are evaluated,” Hall wrote in January. “No decisions have been made regarding repurposing, redevelopment or disposition of the property.”

The former fire station has been heated by the same boiler for the past 69 years. However, the boiler was prone to going out.

Sycamore Fire Chief Bart Gilmore said in 2023 that firefighters had slept in the cold three times during the previous winter because of boiler issues. That same year, an air conditioning unit broke, spurring firefighters to open windows and resort to large fans to cool the station’s living quarters.

Those conditions are now a thing of the past. On Feb. 17, the Sycamore Fire Department officially switched over to a new station at 1351 S. Prairie Dr.

City officials opted to build the new station on land donated to the city by Ideal Industries instead of paying millions in deferred maintenance, or tens of millions to renovate the space into a modern fire station.

The new build cost an estimated $10.5 million.

No longer the home of Sycamore Fire Station No. 1, the future of the building at 535 DeKalb Ave. is undetermined.

Hall wrote that city officials had not yet identified a “preferred long-term use for the site.

“Various possibilities may be considered over time, but any future direction would require additional analysis and City Council consideration,” Hall wrote.

When asked what he thought should happen with the now former fire station, Gilmore said he believes that’s for elected officials to decide.

The city is exempt from paying property taxes on the property, but Hall wrote there are costs to owning the “aging facility,” such as utilities, insurance, basic maintenance and security.

“Those costs are monitored as part of the City’s regular operations while longer-term options are reviewed,” Hall wrote.