LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — Demolition is underway on the old Grant Sawyer Building, a multilevel state office building just north of downtown Las Vegas across from Cashman Field that housed state employees for nearly 30 years.
The structure is being torn down section by section. The demolition crew said the building’s asbestos-free status is allowing the work to move quickly.
“The building’s asbestos-free, which allows us to effectively run through the building in an efficient manner,” said Gregg Miller of GGG Demolition. Miller said the full teardown and site clearing is expected to take about three and a half months.
MORE ON FOX5: Former State of Nevada office building to be demolished for new home development
Why the state moved out
The Governor’s Office said it initially explored remodeling and expanding the Grant Sawyer site, but the cost came in at nearly half a billion dollars. Instead, the state purchased a building near Harry Reid Airport that was nearly twice the size for less than half the price.
“That’s why we moved out of this location, to save taxpayers money,” said Jack Robb, Chief Innovation Officer for Governor Lombardo’s office.
Affordable housing planned for the site
The property was sold to housing developer Lennar. Combined with the adjacent Cashman Field site — sold to the same developer by the City of Las Vegas — the two parcels are expected to yield nearly 1,100 homes for first-time homebuyers. The starting price is expected to be around $400,000. The first home is expected to go on sale in approximately 18 to 24 months.
Residents question tree removal
Not everyone supports the demolition. Area resident Christopher Petrich posted a video on social media questioning why the mature trees on the property — which date to the building’s 1995 construction — are also being removed.
“It seems like to me that’s a lot of money lying on the ground. Those trees are big. They’re kind of iconic,” Petrich said. “Every time you would drive by, they kind of shadowed the buildings. My wife and I used to walk through there. And now it’s just, as you can see behind me, it’s just like a barren desert land.”
The state said it looked into relocating the trees but determined they had to be removed to allow for proper drainage for the new housing development. Officials also cited the high cost of relocation and the risk that trees of that age may not survive the move.
“When they’re of this age, your failure rate is too high,” said Robb.
Materials being recycled
The demolition crew said steel, copper, and aluminum from the building are being saved and resold.
“Recycling is obviously a big part of what we do. It’s a way to help keep material out of landfills. It allows us to recover some costs,” explained Miller.
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