Lawrence city commissioners are right to hold off on selling the city’s historical Fire Station No. 2 building at 1839 Mass. to an individual who wants to convert it to a private residence.

Not that it wouldn’t make an awesome home, but the building is too important a landmark to be converted to private use if it can serve a public purpose.

The city received only one proposal by the February deadline to purchase the building. Last week, they decided to delay making a decision on the building’s future for six months to give city staff members a chance to investigate other possible uses for the brick structure built in the early 1900s.

There are some significant obstacles to converting the building to another use. Notably, the small lot on which the building stands wouldn’t accommodate the parking needed for many public purposes. As they have with the former Carnegie Library building at Ninth and Vermont streets, commissioners also must be concerned with the ongoing costs of maintaining the building.

If only a marginal use can be found for the old fire station, the city might be forced to cut its losses on the structure, but given the cost of acquiring new space for various city uses and the historical nature of the building, a six-month delay to explore additional possibilities seems reasonable.