A request for a temporary liquor license spurred a building inspection Tuesday that forced the city of Tucson to close a portion of a renovated auto parts store in the historic Warehouse Arts District downtown.
City officials said they found building code violations inside the Star Building, 510 N. Seventh Ave., labeling some of the illegal changes made by various tenants as life-threatening. The issue was discussed Tuesday night at the City Council meeting.
“Several of these issues pose life-safety hazards and are of critical concern,” wrote Clayton Trevillyan, a building official with the city. “Critical life-safety hazards must be corrected immediately.”
Issues cited in the report include outlets not wired correctly, emergency lighting not operating properly, walls added without permits, electrical work added without approval and new water supply lines added and improperly installed. One of the areas in the building could not be inspected Tuesday.
Businesses inside the complex include professional dog trainers, an interior-design company, a consulting company as well as a tasting room for the building’s winery.
Ron Schwabe, owner of Peach Properties, said his company spent an estimated $1.8 million to transform the old Star Auto Parts store into 16,000-square-feet of commercial loft spaces.
He said some tenants in the partially empty warehouse have been there for more than a year and made changes inside the building without his knowledge.
He said the issues would be corrected immediately.
However, those changes won’t come quickly enough for the city, which said it will not allow some tenants back into the building until repairs were made.
Schwabe offered several examples of what concerned city officials, including the moving of railing in a bathroom and the moving of a mirror in another part of the building.
The old warehouse is the seventh building renovated by Peach Properties in the Warehouse Arts District since 1985.
City officials said they are working with Schwabe to address the violations, but that some of the issues were more serious than how Schwabe described them.
Assistant City Manager Albert Elias said the tenant requesting the liquor license, Sand-Reckoner Vineyard, had no issues that would conflict with holding a series of wine tastings in the coming weeks.
The council approved the licenses Tuesday.
Councilman Steve Kozachik said the city has to enforce building codes to protect the public, as well as Schwabe’s tenants.
“We cannot allow safety issues to exist in any building we give permits for just because we’re afraid of being called not friendly to business. That’s irresponsible, and no matter who the client is, the public safety codes are in place for a reason,” he said.
