UPDATE (12:31 p.m. April 9):
The Tucson Inn has now also been demolished.
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And then there was one.
After months of ongoing courtroom battles between Pima Community College and Tucson preservationists, two of the three 1950s motels on the north end of the PCC Downtown campus, have been razed.
The Frontier Motel and the Copper Cactus Inn, both along West Drachman Street, were torn down following the lifting of an injunction that prevented them from doing so, in the Arizona Court of Appeals.
The Tucson Inn is the only motel that remains.
The three properties were first purchased by the college in 2018. Preservationist Demion Clinco was on the PCC board at the time.
The governing board, sans Clinco, first started talking about tearing down the motels in 2023, and officially voted to raze the properties in Nov. 2024.
On Jan. 6, The Tucson Historic Preservation Foundation and Arizona Preservation Foundation filed a request for a stay to an appeals court to halt demolition on the buildings. That stop was temporarily granted the same day.
On April 4, The Arizona Court of Appeals said PCC's plans to raze the motels could move forward.
PCC issued the following statement in response:
"Pima Community College is pleased with the Court of Appeals decision that the College Governing Board has the authority and responsibility to make decisions about the properties that it determines are in the best interests of the College. This outcome allows the College to move forward with addressing long-standing safety and security concerns at the site and continue to focus our efforts on serving students and the broader community."
"Throughout this process, the College has remained transparent and diligent—evaluating preservation and redevelopment options, issuing a public Request for Proposals, and engaging with community stakeholders to identify financially viable alternatives that aligned with our mission. Despite these good-faith efforts, no sustainable path emerged to preserve and restore these properties."
"We are grateful for the clarity the Court of Appeals decision provides. This decision allows the College to steward public resources in a fiscally responsible manner, and advance our mission of delivering accessible, affordable education to students and the community."
The governing board first started talking about tearing down the buildings in 2023, and officially voted to raze the properties in Nov. 2024.
