IN WITH THE NEW: The old Safeway is slated for razing. Perlo McCormack Pacific's sign stands in the parking lot of the old building. The company is the general contractor for the new building that will go up on the site. (The Observer/CHRIS POTTER).

By Ray Linker

Observer Staff Writer

ODS Health Plans hasn’t secured all the tenants it wants for its two planned 40,000-square-foot buildings at the old Safeway site, "but they are close," said La Grande City Manager Wes Hare.

Demolition of the old building at Fourth Street and Adams Avenue should begin soon, probably as early as Feb. 24, Hare said.

The La Grande City Council, acting as the Urban Renewal Agency, this week gave the go-ahead for demolition of the building, which has been vacant since Safeway moved south on Adams in December 2001.

Hare said ODS feels the demolition will help it market available space by indicating the project is progressing.

The city will assume half the costs of the demolition, Hare said. The total cost for tearing down the cinder-block and reinforced masonry building will be $90,000, the city learned Thursday.

One of the new structures will contain the city library.

ODS and offices for the Oregon Employment Department are expected to occupy most of other building, although the Employment Department has yet to clear all the hurdles at the state level, Hare said. This includes determining whether the department will lease or buy its section.

Design of the library part of the complex should be available by mid-March, Hare said.

The designer for the library, Roberts and Sherwood Architects of Eugene, will present its plans at public meetings to get residents’ comments, perhaps next month, Hare said.

Overall architect for the complex is OTAK Architects of Lake Oswego. Perlo McCormack Pacific of Tigard is the general contractor.

ODS Health Plans finalized purchase of the site last month for $600,000, with the city paying half.

The city has a "target" of 19,000 square feet of space for the library, Hare said, subject to change based on the amount of money the city will have to begin the project.

From various sources, the city has $3,442,000 available, some in loans. It hopes to convert at least a part of one of those loans to a grant, Hare said.

The city has $692,000 cash on hand, expects $100,000 from the library foundation and anticipates $150,000 in the sale of some assets (the Sub Shop on Fourth Street and the city’s share of a house it inherited at Wallowa Lake).

On the expenditures end, the city’s share of the land purchase, construction and design, demolition and furnishings total $3.6 million, which leaves a deficit of $158,000.

There is $500,000 in "potential revenue" that can be raised from private foundations, Hare feels.

If for some reason, ODS pulls out of the project if it cannot get enough tenants, it is unrealistic to think that the old Safeway building could be transformed into a library, Hare said.

It is too large, the cost of renovation would approach the cost of putting up a new building and it is unlikely that the old building could ever be made energy efficient, Hare said. "I believe the old building is more of a liability than an asset under any circumstances," he said.

He said he would rather see a smaller library or secure grants to keep it at its planned size.