The advertisement that grabbed Thom Kroon's attention marketed a no-longer-used fire station as a "unique residential dwelling.”
So Kroon purchased the property from the City of Seattle in a 2012 auction.
Kroon told KIRO 7 he “thought we had essentially bought a residential property” for $712,000.
The Seattle man then spent thousands of dollars on interior remodeling, and for more than three years, his extended family and friends used the firehouse for holidays, celebrations, charity fundraisers, graduation parties and as an office until a Land Use Notice of Violation arrived in July of 2016.
According to the City of Seattle's violation letter, a "complaint about this property" had been received. A Housing and Zoning Inspector "investigated" and found "violations of the Seattle Land Use Code."