Warehouse razed for parkway project
Demolition catches arts district group by surprise
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The first warehouse slated for demolition for the Barraza-Aviation Parkway extension was torn down Thursday without any advance notice to the warehouse arts district.
The Sangin Trading warehouse at 300 N. Sixth Ave. is among 10 warehouses and other buildings near Toole Avenue that ultimately will be torn down between Fifth and Sixth streets to make way for Downtown Links - the one-mile road that will link Barraza-Aviation to Interstate 10 via the east side of the railroad tracks and Sixth Street.
City transportation officials notified City Council members and Tucson-Pima County Historical Commission members in a July 17 memo of Sangin's imminent demolition, but did not tell Warehouse Arts Management Organization officers or the Downtown Links Citizen Advisory Committee, which met Monday.
The State Historic Preservation Office last year approved the demolition, said Andrew Singelakis, deputy transportation director.
The fate of state-owned warehouses, largely occupied by artists, has been a flashpoint for years between the city and the combined force of artists and neighborhood leaders.
"I find it interesting that city officials failed to mention it at a public meeting Monday night," said Natasha Winnik, a former Downtown Links committee member. "Information should be fully given on what the timetable is."
Winnik owns the Originate Natural Building Materials Showroom, 526 N. Ninth Ave, one of the warehouses slated for demolition. She has long questioned the city's desire to build a road through historic neighborhoods.
"People have always been concerned about the demolition of warehouses," Winnik said. "I don't think anybody knew it would be coming down today."
Susan Gamble, president of the Warehouse Arts Management Organization, didn't know about Sangin's Thursday demolition, but she was not put off by not being notified.
"It was in pretty bad shape," Gamble said. "I'd rather see it go, even without knowing about it."
The Sangin was torn down now for safety reasons, stemming from flooding, repeated vandalism and the theft of its copper tubing, said Michael R. Graham, spokesman for the city Transportation Department.
"It wasn't a situation that we were trying to hide something," Graham said of the demolition. "It's been scheduled. It's been stopped. It's been scheduled. It's been stopped."
Downtown Links is the $76 million road project that will run along the east flank of the downtown railroad tracks, turn onto Seventh Avenue before running on a new route between Fifth and Sixth streets. The road would rejoin Sixth Street at 10th Avenue and then continue on St. Mary's Road to Interstate 10.
That would require the demolition of the following warehouses: Small Planet Bakery, Originate, Juice Factory, Lucky Street and Mat Bevel Institute. No demolition schedule has been established for the other warehouses, Graham said.
Sangin is owned by the state, but the city has an easement that gives it control of the building. It has been vacant for about three years, Graham said.
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John F. (johnfalky)
Aug 17, 2008 @ 11:23amActually, the Sangin Warehouse was structurally quite sound and in good internal condition as well, even having a complete fire sprinkling system. (And I have the pics to show how it went downhill) It was the CITY who allowed it to deteriote, by deliberately allowing it to fall into disrepair through inattention. The plan for the parkway is hopelessly outdated, stemming from somewhere in the eighties. The city simply does not have the managerial skills or spinal fortitude to call off a project which destroys more of downtown. Other warehouses will ultimately suffer the same fate. The warehouse district could have been a super idea, had the city realized that getting rid of car-clogged streets downtown was also a task to be accomplished. But, this is not the only problem Tucson has, many of its deteriorating neighborhoods, its crumbling streets, are all items that have needed attention for decades. -
Nancy R. (#5758)
Aug 17, 2008 @ 1:49amI say tear everything old down and put up some more of those lovely giant ugly houses everywhere. Let's get some progress going here already!
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Matt j. (pokerpalooza)
Aug 15, 2008 @ 7:29pmisn't there some way we can waste RioNoShow money on this? a committee perhaps? No, several committees, and half a dozen studies too.
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