National Guard, old Armory complex demolished

The old Carson City Armory and Nevada National Guard complex on south Carson Street is gone, converted by Goldie Inc. of Las Vegas into huge piles of concrete rubble.

Project Manager Ken Scarbrough of the state Public Works Department said only nine small structures remain of the original 27 that occupied the 12.6 acre property. Those, Scarbrough said, will be used for storage until the state decides what to build on the land just south of Colorado Street.

"The main thing is it's not for sale," he said. "It'll be used for state purposes."

He said the property is a prime location for a state complex. Public Safety is interested in building something there that would unite all of its divisions under one roof, Scarbrough said.

For now, however, there isn't money available to build any new state buildings.

Scarbrough said the $269,000 demolition project was paid for by the federal government. The bids, he said, came in 50 percent lower than originally expected because contractors are fighting hard for the few jobs out there in this economy.

Crews from Goldie still are on the property, working to recycle everything they can.

"They'll recycle close to 80 percent of the material," said Scarbrough.

He said the steel beams and rebar will all be sold, the flagpoles relocated to other National Guard facilities, the aluminum and steel radio antennas sold for use elsewhere.

Even the concrete is being reused. A huge grinder on the property is reducing it to gravel-sized bits that will fill in the hole left when the basement of the Armory was demolished.

In all, he said, the recycled materials are worth up to $45,000 to the contractor.

Through the project, which began Sept. 12, Scarbrough said the neighbors to the east have been kept advised on what was happening and every effort made to reduce noise and dust. The concrete grinder, he said, is quieter than older models but still makes a lot of noise.

"We'll try keep it to a dull roar but it's going to be a roar," he said.

The first step in the project was to put up a fence to keep the curious - especially children - out.

"We actually delayed (starting the project) a couple of weeks until the kids were back in school," he said. "A half demolished building is always interesting to kids."