Pasadena City Council approves design contract for old AT&T building

As far as old buildings go, the near-abandoned building dubbed the old AT&T building located near Pasadena City Hall has seen better days. The 47-year-old structure has been sitting empty for more than three years after the basement flooded during hurricane Ike. But renovation plans are moving forward to bring the building back to life.

On Tuesday (Nov. 4) the Pasadena City Council again took up the issue of repairing the building and using it to house the Fire Department, Code Enforcement, Municipal Court and Fire Marshal Departments.

What were looking at is total costs for remodeling the AT&T building of about $11 million. This does not include repairs to the parking garage behind the building, Councilmember Pat Van Houte said.

The City of Pasadena also owns another dilapidated building located at 901 Curtis, which was also damaged during Hurricane Ike. Engineers estimate a cost of roughly $11 million to tear down 901 Curtis and build a new building. Van Houte questioned why the same money was being spent to tear down and rebuild one building but not the other.

One way gets you a remodeled building and one way gets you a new building, she said.

The old AT&T building was donated to the city by Southwestern Bell in 2011 in exchange for real estate fees and closing costs of roughly $25,000.

During remodeling, a portion of the $11 million renovation budget will be spent to remove mold and remediate asbestos issues.

The building has a torn roof. The windows are broken. The flooding happened and the basement took on 10 feet of water. It has mold. It has asbestos, Councilmember Don Harrison said. It is my understanding the city itself condemned the garage. All this happened because of one event: Hurricane Ike.

Van Houte asked why thecouncil wasnt allowed input on the decision.

This was presented to council as Weve made a decision, vote for this one. This has never been something for council to discuss, the pros and cons, she said. Theres a problem with the way were making decisions and I am not convinced this is the best choice.

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Pasadena City Council approves design contract for old AT&T building