City of Dixon’s Firehouse Rehabilitation Project Wins CALED Award of Excellence

Published by Dixon Patch

The City of Dixon accepted the CALED Excellence Award for Economic Development Partnerships for the Firehouse Rehabilitation Project at the CALED’s 31^st annual conference, taking place April 27-28, 2011.  The Firehouse project beat out entries from all other cities in the state of California. 

The Economic Development Partnership category honors development projects between the public and private sector that exemplify the spirit of partnership and were judged on innovation, creativity, significance of impact on employment and the local economy, among other criteria.

The Firehouse Rehabilitation project provided numerous benefits to the community such as eliminating a large vacant space in downtown. This change created new office space and demand for services in the immediate neighborhood.  It also added new retail and commercial uses to downtown and conserved a building with unique architectural character and local historical significance.  This project was made possible by a combination of investments between the Small Business Administration, City of Dixon Redevelopment Agency and private investors.

The Firehouse Rehabilitation project has provided unique dining experiences that draw from a broad geographic area. For instance, previously, tea room customers had to travel to Benicia, San Francisco or the Sierra foothills to access this type of venue. The dental practice specializes in pediatric dentistry and special needs populations. The dental practice component brings parents, caregivers, and health aids into the downtown area and generates visits to other nearby businesses for shopping, banking, and convenience goods. There is also a hair salon and attorney office in the building providing a good mix of retail and professional uses.

For more information about the City of Dixon Firehouse Rehabilitation Project or other Economic Development programs of the City of Dixon, contact Mark Heckey, Economic Development Director at (707) 678-7000 x112 or visit the web site at: http://www.ci.dixon.ca.us/econdev/index.html

For more information about the CALED conference, visit http://caled.org/economicdevelopment/services/caleds-31st-annual-conference#