This story was originally published by The Merced FOCUS.
Once bustling with activity and home to hundreds of employees, the former Merced Sun-Star building on G Street is set to be torn down to its foundation.
The Merced City Council during its Monday meeting voted unanimously to declare an emergency over the condition of the vacant newspaper building so it can be demolished.
The building, located at 3033 N. G St., sustained extensive damage in a major fire last fall.
City Manager Scott McBride, in a February memo, determined the fire left the building “structurally unsafe and dangerous to enter.”
He also said possible asbestos in the fire debris may pose a health risk. Additionally, break-ins of the building became a daily occurrence and have created a liability for the city.
Declaring a state of emergency allows city officials to bypass the competitive bidding process and contract with a company for the demolition. Along with the emergency declaration, the city council also approved paying up to $250,000 for the demolition and abatement of the building.
The city expects to receive a $1.4 million insurance payout for the loss of the building.
Before the vote, Councilmember Shane Smith inquired as to whether any potential historical artifacts remained in the building.
Merced’s Deputy City Manager Frank Quintero told the city council there are at least two items the city plans to remove from the building before demolition. The first is an old vehicle from the 1970s with the Sun-Star name on it that Quintero said likely was used for deliveries. The other item is remnants from the old printing press.
Demolition is set to begin in the coming weeks, city officials said. The city is currently in the permitting phase before abatement begins.
The city bought the 30,500 square-foot building and 5.5 acre property from the newspaper’s parent company, McClatchy, in 2017 for $1.62 million. The newspaper staff moved out of the building in the years following the sale.
Initially, the city planned to relocate the police department headquarters to the property, but a few years later officials began to cast doubt on whether that still made sense.
In the years since the sale, the building became an eyesore on one of the city’s main thoroughfares. That’s a stark comparison to two decades ago, when roughly 200 employees worked for the paper.
Construction of the building broke ground in 1970, according to a Sun-Star story at the time. The building was dedicated March 18, 1971, “exactly 54 years ago,” Sarah Lim told The Merced FOCUS via email on Tuesday.
The total investment for the building construction, property and other equipment was around $1 million at the time.