A residential property redeveloped inside what once was one of San Antonio’s largest firehouses has hit the market for just shy of $1.4 million.
The historic property in the west-of-downtown Prospect Hill area was built in 1927 and used as the city’s Firehouse No. 8 for 70 years. The remnants of its former glory include the original brick exterior and, naturally, lots of garage space, which has been converted into interior living quarters.
The property comes with two active AirBnB apartments, one being a tiny home in the backyard. Both units feature loft beds, full kitchens and appliances. Another apartment where the current owner resides also could be transformed into a rental unit.
The purchaser also could include up to five more rental units or fully convert the 6,460-square-foot property for commercial use, thanks to flexible zoning, according to listing details.
The city decommissioned Firehouse No. 8 in 1999, and the property was dormant for more than a decade, although it did see makeshift usage as an inspection station for food trucks. Hoping to breathe new life into the space, the city approached David Komet, a local real estate developer known to take on offbeat projects.
“The city approached him because they knew he would be a good person for this,” said David’s daughter Sarah Komet, who’s also the listing agent. “They know he’s someone who’s quirky and game to take on different projects.”
After buying the property in 2011, David Komet began making updates, including all the plumbing and most of the electrical. He also converted the garage into his main living space, which has a hip, modern feel thanks to gapped, unfinished pine plank walls throughout. The walls — a signature the developer regularly uses in historic restorations — are designed to mitigate noise and humidity.
Other than the necessary updates, David Komet said he tried to have a light touch.
“My approach to adaptive reuse of historic buildings is to only eliminate things as we need to,” he added.
Komet also outfitted Firehouse No. 8 with sustainable updates, including a rainwater collection system, improved windows and doors, permaculture landscaping and solar-powered hot water.
“The greenest kind of building you can do is rehab an old masonry building like this,” he said. “You’ve got a large carbon load on the building due to the concrete and steel. It’s better than building something new that’s high-performance.”
This home is listed by Scott Malouff with Keller Williams Heritage.
All photos and listing info via Realtor.com.
