Legal Battle Over Demolition Of Arizona State Fairgrounds Building

By Alexandra Olgin
Published: Thursday, July 17, 2014 - 4:17pm
Alexandra Olgin KJZZ News
Demolition of the former Works Progress Administration building on the Arizona State Fairgrounds is temporarily on hold.

The former Works Progress Administration building on the Arizona State Fairgrounds is now the object of a legal battle.

Its demolition was scheduled for Wednesday, July 16, but is temporarily on hold because of a court order. The order will delay demolition until the court date next Wednesday, but the city is preparing an argument to hold demolition even longer.

In 2010, Arizona sold more than 10 state-owned properties to a trust that is controlled by US Bank. Some of those include state prisons, state capitol buildings, hospitals and the Arizona State Fairgrounds.

The demolition permit issued to the fairgrounds for the WPA building is not from Phoenix. The city attorney’s office argues the Arizona state fairground serves a commercial purpose rather than governmental function. That means in order to demolish the building the fairgrounds would need a city permit.