Senators visit Tumon garage set for demolition

Corrections & Clarifications: A previous version of this story had Lt. Jason Aguon's first name wrong

On Wednesday, Sens. Christopher Duenas, James Moylan and Tony Ada, along with Guam Police Department officials, visited a Tumon parking structure that has been derelict for years.

The building on Cushing Way, across from the Blessed Diego Luis De San Vitores Catholic Church, has been an eyesore in the area for years. In July 2019, the Guam Environmental Protection agency issued a warning to former owner David Su to clean up the parking lot after it became a site for illegal dumping. 

Vince Arriola of the Department of Public Works stated last year that homeless individuals routinely stay in the structure, and that the growing homeless population is becoming a public health and public safety concern. 

During the tour of the building, several homeless individuals were present. According to a G4S official who handles security in the area for the Guam Visitor's Bureau, a concrete barrier had been erected to keep squatters out, but was subsequently torn down. On any given night, there are about 10 people living in the upper floors of the structure.

The structure is on a list of derelict buildings in Tumon that the Department of Public Works has been working to address since Oct. 2020, Moylan said. The project is a joint effort with the Guam Visitors Bureau to beautify the area.

Moylan said the building was recently purchased and was being handled by RIM Architecture. The senator has been in contact with Brent Weisse of the company and is working out the details of demolishing the structure. 

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Security, cleaning

In the meantime, he said, some sort of security needs to be put in place.

"We want to ensure that they clean this up right away. We're asking for a fence line to be put up and all this rubbish to be cleaned out," Moylan said. "With the homeless people, it is a situation, but the structure is unsafe. You've seen the cracked pillars and the supports that had to be put up."

The senator stated the Guam Homeless Coalition had already come down to the structure to try and provide support to individuals residing in the garage.

Lt. Jason Aguon, commander of the Tumon station, said dealing with complaints associated with the building makes up a large portion of the work that his staff, with just five patrol officers on any given shift, has to do. 

Residents of the structure routinely harassed tourists during the evenings, he said, in pre-pandemic days. Beer bottles were often hurled off the top of the structure, and an arrow had even been fired at a nearby commercial building.

The structure was the most populated homeless area in Tumon, one GPD officer said. Trash, beer cans, human feces and needles were scattered throughout the garage and the surrounding property.

"This is absolutely unacceptable," Duenas said.

GovGuam needed to step up and address the situation.

"Property owners cannot be allowed to let their buildings fall into this condition," he said.

This article originally appeared on Pacific Daily News: Senators visit Tumon garage set for demolition