Mayor Walt Maddox says former Tuscaloosa News building will be demolished

On social media Wednesday night, Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox confirmed The Tuscaloosa News' old building, on Nick's Kids Avenue and Jack Warner Parkway, across from the Tuscaloosa Amphitheater, will be torn down within about 15 or 16 months, to make way for the Saban Center.

Contacted for confirmation, Maddox said "The city is in the design phase, which includes the $25 million expansion, passed by the Alabama Legislature this session.

More: State partnership with Saban Center could add $25 million or more to project

"Design should be completed by last quarter of 2024, which would initiate the demolition of The Tuscaloosa News, sans the materials and structures to be used in the construction of the Saban Center." During the 16-month design phase, which began this summer, teams will determine what within the existing structure might be usable for the new one, such as foundations.

Early in the process, there was thought of constructing the Saban Center around the newspaper's existing building. While demolition of the building has been discussed, this seems to be first public confirmation.

The Saban Center will arise atop the 9-acre downtown site, as a STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) learning hub involving hands-on experiences, displays, performances, professional and workforce development and more, expected to open in 2026.

Tuscaloosa Children's Theatre and the Children's Hands-On Museum (which will rebrand as IGNITE) will move their functions into the Saban Center. Along with support and funding from the state, Coca-Cola Bottling Co. United, the Alabama Power Foundation, Mercedes-Benz, Parker Towing, the University of Alabama. and the coach Nick Saban family's NIck's Kids Foundation, costs are projected to reach about $100 million.

In response to a question on the social-media site about demolition plans for the building, built at a cost of about $30 million by the New York Times Regional Media Group for its then partnership with The Tuscaloosa News, Maddox responded "We are tracking for a late Fall (2024) or early Winter (2025)."

If the ongoing design phases continue as planned, construction should begin in August 2024.

In March, the Saban Center project was announced as being in a three-month pre-design phase: studying space requirements, and constraints and possibilities on the site. The design phase, begun this summer and including work by Davis Architects and Volkert Inc., is expected to take 16 months, leading to bidding and awarding contracts. If construction begins on schedule, August 2024, the Saban Center should be completed by late 2026.

The city of Tuscaloosa purchased The Tuscaloosa News building and the site it sits on for about $8 million in October 2019. The reduced Tuscaloosa News staff continued to work in the building, leasing a portion of the 90,000-square-foot building from the city, for the next few years.

In May 2020, The Tuscaloosa News' printing operations were moved to Montgomery, with the news-gathering operation remaining in Tuscaloosa. In late 2022, The Tuscaloosa News editorial staff vacated the building at 315 Nick's Kids Ave. and moved into offices at 2328 Fourth St., in Temerson Square, downtown Tuscaloosa.

Reach Tusk Editor Mark Hughes Cobb at mark.cobb@tuscaloosanews.com.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Former Tuscaloosa News building will be demolished, mayor says