A devastating fire that recently gutted a vacant youth center in East San Jose hasn’t diminished the community’s desire to restore it for future use.
The former Mexican American Community Services Agency (MACSA) building burned down Friday, breaking the hearts of Eastside advocates who want to revitalize and reuse the space. The Alum Rock Union School District, which owns the property, held an emergency meeting the next day to authorize assessing what remediation and possible demolition needs to occur. The San Jose Fire Department is still investigating the cause of the fire.
“There is a substantial amount of debris,” Rogelio Ruiz, district legal counsel, said at the meeting. “There are tall standing structures that are burned out that are leaning. There is asbestos contained in building materials … and potentially some lead as well. All of these materials are in a very tight and close community, and of course, in proximity to the classrooms (at Renaissance Academy at Mathson).”
The emergency designation — approved unanimously by the board of trustees — allows the district to skip the two-month bid process to select who will handle the work. It also needs approval from Santa Clara County Superintendent of Schools David Toston. District officials expect to have structural engineers at the site this week…