Where once there were fire trucks, and before that horse-drawn fire wagons, now there will be beer.

A proposal to repurpose a historic fire station in St. Paul could begin construction this year after getting approval Friday from the St. Paul Planning Commission. Restaurateurs Travis and Justine Temke now just need sign-offs from the mayor’s office and a title transfer from the City Council to turn the vacant building at 754 Randolph Ave. into a microbrewery, taproom and banquet hall.

The city chose the Temke proposal out of a dozen offers in December 2017 after deciding to sell the building earlier that year. Fire Engine House No. 10, built in 1885 and expanded in 1910, ceased operating as a fire station in 2010 and more recently was used for storage. The building is two blocks north of West Seventh Street.

It’s a challenging building to work with, but a good fit for the Temkes’ vision, Travis Temke said in an interview.

“We were looking throughout St. Paul for a location, and when we came across the fire station the city of St. Paul was looking to sell … we did quite a bit of research on the building and the neighborhood,” he said Monday. “In relation to where my wife and I live, we thought it would be a fantastic location for the concept we wanted to do.”

Temke estimates it will cost between $2.2 million and $2.5 million to reinforce and restore the 9,600-square-foot structure, replace pedestrian and garage doors, replace the floors, make widespread electrical and mechanical updates, comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, and install the plumbing needed for brewing operations.

Then there are the environmental issues that come with older buildings. Temke expects to find asbestos and lead paint. Records also show the station originally was called “Chemical Station No. 5,” but few details are available.

“There’s not sufficient documentation of what that actually entailed, where they stored them, are there buried tanks. … With that long history, documentation doesn’t exist,” he said.

The Temkes have previously developed restaurants and another microbrewery in Faribault, Minnesota. For their new business, they like the location among numerous other microbreweries in St. Paul’s West Seventh neighborhood, not far from where they live in the Cherokee Heights neighborhood. They are not yet announcing the name of the new business.

“We wanted to bring our small business closer to home, and I like the craft beer and small brewery scene,” he said.

The neighborhood has a long history of brewing, said Emily Northey, executive director of the Fort Road Federation. The former Schmidt Brewery, now known as the Schmidt Artist Lofts, has long been a fixture in the area, and new operations continue to arrive. Most recently, Keg and Case Market at 928 Seventh St. W. opened earlier this month in another former Schmidt Brewery building with two dozen vendors, including Clutch Brewing Co.

“I do think this neighborhood has a very high percentage of locally owned or very small chain businesses, and I think that matches well the types of neighborhoods that breweries are opening up in,” Northey said in an interview.

West Seventh is a neighborhood with deep roots, Northey said, and many families have been there three or four generations. Longtime residents “speak fairly warmly of the sound of sirens and sleeping through them, but also the goodwill of the firemen,” she said, adding thhey also largely support the new project. The Fort Road Federation endorsed the project for its conditional use permit in May.

“It’s a vacant building that’s been used mostly for storage for 10 years that’s going to become an active presence in the neighborhood,” she said. “… We understand it’s important not just to have strong residential neighborhoods but strong businesses … and seeing this building turn back into active use is something people are happy to see.”

The property has been designated a Heritage Preservation Site by the city. Temke is in the process of getting it added to the National Registry of Historic Places, in part because of its significance as the city’s first racially integrated fire station. Temke hopes to honor that history with a mural and display area inside the building.

The project can move forward while the federal historic designation is pending, Temke said, and he hopes to begin work by the end of the year. He sees a lot of growth happening in the neighborhood, and he’s eager to get on board.

“Even within the last year, I’ve seen houses change ownership and the youth have come in,” he said. “I think you’re going to see [in] the next 10 years a big change in that neighborhood.”