City puts up notice, calls engineer, plans for possible
relocation 12 years after learning about the problem.
Twelve years ago, the city found out that the youth center’s larger, L-shaped building at the corner of Sixth and Railroad streets was not structurally sound. It still isn’t, and the city found this out (again) earlier this week, calling into question exactly how many of these buildings there are around town.
City inspectors posted a notice on the building at 7400 Railroad St. Wednesday after a routine inspection revealed that its stucco walls and parapets are made from hollow clay tile and brick masonry, which does not comply with state earthquake standards. But the city discovered this from an evaluation it commissioned before purchasing the building from PG&E in 1996, according to Public Information Officer Joe Kline.
“However, this was not generally considered a significant health and safety risk at the time, and the building’s purchase proceeded to ensure continued use as a youth center,” wrote Kline in a press release Friday. The building housed a youth center since 1994, two years before the city acquired the property, Kline added.
“Although not deemed a high risk situation, the city is acting with an abundance of caution and will be taking precautionary measures to deal with this situation,” including hiring en engineer to evaluate the building again, Kline wrote. “City staff is taking immediate steps to assess the building’s condition and is developing the necessary action items to address the issue, including the possibility of relocating Youth Center programs to alternate locations.” He did not specify where these alternate locations might be.
After school, Gilroy’s youth box and study inside the 78-year-old structure and play basketball outside, and the Mexican American Community Services Agency also offers youth and adult outreach programs there.
The city has at least 34 known unreinforced masonry buildings, almost all of which are downtown and 10 of which have been fixed by repairs or demolition and reconstruction. About 10 others are in the city’s queue with their owners securing necessary permits, according to figures from the city’s development department.
