[Source: Andrea Kelly, Arizona Daily Star] -- A building in the city's Warehouse Historic District, once threatened by the Barraza-Aviation Parkway, will be coming down, not because of the road, but because of damage from a broken waterline. The Tucson Department of Transportation decided Thursday it will demolish the yellow warehouse at the northeast corner of East Sixth Street and North Stone Avenue because of the public-safety threat if the building, or any part of it, falls into the street, said Jim Glock, the department's director.At one point the 52-year-old building was in the path of the final mile of the parkway, but it got a reprieve when disputes over where that final leg should go forced the city to consider realigning the route. Department spokesman Michael Graham said the Downtown Links committee is re-evaluating the road plans. He noted the road could still run through where the building sits, but it will be long gone by then. The demolition of the building, acquired by the state for parkway right of way, will cost an estimated $97,310. Restoring it would cost $250,000. The Arizona Department of Transportation owns the building but gave the city the property management easement, Graham said.
The yellow warehouse was previously used by Foree Tire Distributors. It is now used to store records for Sun Tran and hospital beds for a nonprofit organization. The southwest corner of the building, 506 N. Stone Ave., started to sink after the waterline broke under it in March, said Paul Schwam, an architect who leases the adjoining building. Its fate has been up in the air since then because of its Warehouse Historic District location. Though the warehouse itself is not historic, the building next it on East Sixth Street is considered a "contributing building," to the historic district, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, said Marty McCune, Tucson historic preservation officer.
[Note: To read the full article, click here. Graphic source: Dave Castelan, Arizona Daily Star.]
