A former Leetsdale spa and firehouse is undergoing another transformation to become a dream home for an engaged couple.

Adrienne Parkes and Charlie Dees moved to 85 Broad St. in May and plan to marry on Halloween.

In the meantime, they’re renovating what once served as the borough building, police office, fire station and most recently a spa. The building is about three stories tall and 4,000 square feet with three full baths.

Moving to Leetsdale was a homecoming of sorts for Parkes, who spent years in Sewickley with her parents, Tom and Barbara Brunson. She graduated from Quaker Valley High School in 2001.

Tom Brunson was an outstanding Quaker Valley football player — his 1967 team was inducted into the Quaker Valley Hall of Fame.

Parkes’ parents later moved to Leetsdale; both passed away a few months apart last year.

Parkes, 42, lived in Leet for the past few years before moving to the borough.

“I really love the concept of owning a piece of history here where my dad grew up,” she said. “He was a Quaker Valley grad. It was really important to me that my son go to Quaker Valley.”

She hoped to have her son, now a sophomore, walk to school and her dad’s place once he enters high school.

“I was an Edgeworth (Elementary) kid. (My son) went to Edgeworth,” Parkes said. “I know that things are different amongst the elementary schools and teachers change, but I have always loved all of the staff from when I was a kid till now.

“They just have phenomenal teachers, principals,” Parkes said. “The communication has always been wonderful. When I brought my son to start at Quaker Valley, some of my teachers were and are still there. His third grade teacher was my fourth grade teacher. When I went to the open house, I was sobbing.”

Dees, 39, said that outside of being with Parkes and building a family, it was his dream to live in a firehouse from the first time he watched “Ghostbusters.”

The Leetsdale firehouse’s age and proximity to a railroad were also a plus.

“I’ve always been partial to historic buildings,” Dees said. “My previous one in Lawrenceville is one of the oldest houses in Lawrenceville at 180 years old. I love the history that was here and wanted to preserve as much of it as we could, but also make it comfortable and modern.”

Being near Norfolk Southern railroad lines is something Dees said his parents could appreciate.

“My mom instilled in me her love of trains,” Dees said. “I’ve always loved trains from my granddad. And my granddad was a steelworker in Pittsburgh years ago. I love train graffiti — it’s one of my favorite art forms. Literally, 15 times a day (a train) will go down past the house. We will at night just sit out on that little walkway and watch trains go by and hang with the dogs.”

He also mentioned getting out of a bustling Pittsburgh area and into a quieter, safer borough with a big backyard is a good thing for the family’s canines.

They have four dogs: Harley, a Great Dane; Hermes, a beagle-hound mix; and Luna and Piper, boxers.

“They love having space,” Dees said. “They love having their own rooms.”

Parkes said she had to put a fence up and no longer let the backyard be a cut-through for other residents to keep the dogs from running loose.

The family plans to have an open house sometime in October before their wedding.

Parkes is the owner and operator of the cleaning company Common Sense Cleaning, serving the Sewickley, North Hills and Robinson areas.

Dees, a massage therapist by trade, has more than 15 years in the wellness industry, including the past seven at Pittsburgh-­based Peace of Time Wellness.

One of their favorite Leetsdale businesses is Three Rivers Karting in the Industrial Park.

Building transitions

Fire Chief Wes James recalled what it was like at the Broad Street fire station during the early parts of his career.

“The borough office and police office were in place before the fire garage,” James said. “The original fire garage was in the area of 168 Broad St. At some point, the fire station/garage was added to the building. Upstairs in the fire station was a public meeting room for council. The upstairs of the offices was a small apartment. The tenants in the apartment took the phone calls for the police and fire. They would dispatch the police officer via radio and push the button to activate the siren.

“Everything moved out when we came to the new building (along Beaver Street).”

Space was at a premium at the old site.

“The fire garage was small,” James recalled. “As fire engines were replaced, they got bigger. The garage door was narrow. It was a challenge to park the fire engines. There was no way structurally to make the door larger, and the floor started to break under the weight of the larger engine that came in 1992.

“We had our gear hanging on the walls, but it was so tight on the one side along the fire engine, you couldn’t access your bunker gear unless the engine was pulled out of the garage. You had to wash the trucks outside, so, needless to say, road salt accumulated and caused rust.”

The garage is in the process of being made into a game room with canvas prints of classic horror films, autographed movie and pro wrestler photos, a 120-inch projection screen and images of various video game characters.

The current borough building at 373 Beaver St. opened in July 2008.

Its former facility was renovated in December of that year and most of 2009 into a part dwelling and part spa called Chvasta European Skin Care.

The spa was owned and operated by Rose M. Van Hemert Chvasta. She retired earlier this year after more than 30 years in the skin care industry. She also lived in the Leetsdale property until its closure in May.

It was purchased from Chvasta for $763,000, down from its original retail price of nearly $900,000.

A spa treatment area is being remodeled into a guest room.

The original holding cell windows are in the kitchen. Remodeling also included new HVAC, electrical, appliances and furniture.

The family removed a lot of Egyptian decor and other furnishings.

“It’s been a whirlwind,” Dees said.

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