The old Pismo Beach City Hall building on Bello Street has sat vacant for more than 20 years.

Now, it seems to be heading toward a new life as a fire station and communications center, as part of the city’s anticipated fire and police department expansion in that area.

The brick building has had myriad uses in its 94-year lifespan. It was built as a schoolhouse in 1923, housing Pizmo Grammar School until 1948. The city purchased the building in 1953 and used it as its city hall until 1995, until moving to its current City Hall on Mattie Road.

Since then, the Bello Street building has been used mostly for storage.

In 2012, the building came close to being demolished because of asbestos in the roof, water damage throughout the building and mold in the basement. Officials worried the building had become a collapse hazard. After some outcry from residents, the city decided to repair the more dangerous parts of the building and start figuring out how it could be reused.

On Tuesday, the Pismo Beach City Council heard a study regarding the Bello Street corridor — the council’s first step in determining how it can use the historic building without changing the character of the neighborhood.

“Generally what we heard was that they like the neighborhood,” Community Development Director Jeff Winklepleck said in presenting the study. “They did not want any sort of market or anything they thought would really change the character of that neighborhood.”

Staff recommended using the building to expand the neighboring fire and police stations. The two emergency services share a lot next to the old city hall building, and the tight quarters limit the two departments’ operations, staff said.