Former Merced Juvenile Hall demolished, read what’s coming!

The former juvenile hall located at 1411 “B” street has been vacant since early 2004, according to the City of Merced.

Operations were moved to the Iris Garrett Juvenile Justice Complex on Sandy Mush road, with the facilities’ antiquated buildings system and multitudes of code deficiencies. According to the board of supervisors, it was never feasible to repurpose the facility for another use.

Since vacated, the old facility has been plagued with vandalism as well as maintenance issues due to deterioration. To eliminate vandalism and ongoing maintenance issues, the department of public works requested the board of supervisors to demolish the facility. The demolition started on January 22nd, 2019.

The department of public works estimates the total project cost at $491,000.00

The purpose of the demolition is to create a navigation center to more effectively serve homeless residents within Merced County. Currently, Merced county faces a significant challenge in providing services to homeless people residing in encampments and unsheltered homeless.

The 2018 point-in-time count revealed nearly 61% of Merced County homeless population are living unsheltered. Many of these individuals refuse to access the current services due to rules forbidding possessions, pets, and partners. The presence of encampments and unsheltered homeless individuals within many communities is raising concerns regarding health, safety, and sanitation.

The Navigation Center build out is currently estimated at $8,766,000 and includes the construction of a single story 27,000 SF pre-engineered building with a commercial kitchen.

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