Toxic black mold. Pigeon poop. Employee illnesses.

Only a year after the facility opened, state employees at the Grant Sawyer State Office Building in Las Vegas reported unsafe working conditions that led to state investigations and millions of dollars in repairs.

But this week, officials celebrated the start of the demolition of the since-vacated complex to make room for almost 300 homes, a key milestone in the yearslong efforts by state officials to right the ship on the plagued state property.

It's a saga that raised questions over how a 30-year-old building could fall into such disrepair and whether the state made the right call in pulling the plug on the complex altogether.

It all harkens back to state officials' decision in 2023 to relocate Southern Nevada-based state workers to a new state office complex close to Harry Reid International Airport. Officials said that purchasing the new buildings — rather than renovating Grant Sawyer and erecting two more buildings in the complex — saved the state about $200 million.

Although state officials had said they would explore using the land a few blocks from downtown Las Vegas for housing development, other options were on the table. Major League Soccer was interested in the property, but it did not have enough funds, and state officials also discussed turning it into a children's hospital.

Ultimately, the state struck a deal last year with Lennar, a homebuilding company, to purchase the land for about $11 million — about $9 million less than the state initially sought.

"Rather than allowing this property to sit underutilized, we're helping create a community where more than 1,000 Nevada families will have the opportunity to achieve the dream of homeownership," Gov. Joe Lombardo (R) said in a statement this week.

However, that framing is slightly misleading.

Lennar also bought land across the street at the site of the Cashman Center, a 50-acre property that includes a soccer stadium. One thousand homes will be built on the sites, while the Grant Sawyer building's demolition will clear the way for about 300 of those homes.

A building in disrepair

There was consensus that the Grant Sawyer building — named for the man who served as Nevada governor from 1959 to 1967 — was not getting the job done.

"Everyone who had the displeasure of being in Grant Sawyer knew how terrible a building that was," Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager (D-Las Vegas) said in a legislative hearing last year.

Elevators often didn't work, there were widespread complaints of air quality and room temperature, vacuuming was suspended because of a mold investigation. The secretary of state's staff even left the building in 2018 because of health concerns.

The problems date back to soon after the building opened in 1995. One year later, employees from 14 state agencies reported getting routinely sick at work because of a toxic black fungus, leading to investigations. At the time, observers said water damage had gone unaddressed, and 25 workers filed workers compensation claims.

The state has since spent millions of dollars on building repairs.

Jack Robb, the state's chief innovation officer who previously led the Department of Administration, said in an interview that the condition of the building came down to problems in initial construction and difficulties in funding repairs.

In 2023, he told lawmakers that state processes can sometimes impede timely repairs because large-scale requests typically have to go through the state's Capital Improvement Planning (CIP) process, only approved once every two years.

But since then, the state has increased its rental rate on state-owned property — meaning the amount of money it charges itself per square foot — to create a pool of money to be used for immediate maintenance needs. The previous rate was $0.94 per square foot, leaving no money for everyday repairs, but it has increased to $1.66.

Additionally, last year, the governor's office allocated about $1 million for ongoing maintenance and emergency repairs — mostly for HVAC — outside of the CIP process.

Widespread support

The state ultimately faced the decision of remodeling the building and paying for two new structures, or try to sell the property.

It chose the latter.

State officials said staying would have cost about $480 million, including $127 million in remodeling expenses and $330 million to build two new buildings. By contrast, the state purchased the new buildings for $213 million. It also set aside about $75 million to renovate the newly purchased complex, but not all of that has been spent yet.

"Instead of building, buying was much more efficient," Robb said.

The new complex has gotten high marks.

"I have heard several compliments from all kinds of folks who have traveled to those buildings and have had a way better experience than anyone ever had in the Grant Sawyer Building," Yeager said at last year's legislative hearing.

Diane Thornton, then-director of the Legislative Counsel Bureau, said at the same hearing that the new area "is a safer location for the public, for legislators and for staff." She added that legislative staff previously reported being afraid to leave the Grant Sawyer building late at night.

A new start

Demolition of the building began earlier this month, and it is set to continue for the next few months, said Gregg Miller, whose company is leading the demolition. After that, work will start on the housing complex.

When all is said and done, the 22-acre property is expected to hold 191 freestanding townhomes and 99 detached single-family homes, according to City of Las Vegas documents.

Some of the single-family homes will start at $400,000 — a price point that Robb said is "unheard of for a single detached house."

"We're targeting first-time buyers for this location," Robb said.