Palm Springs residents celebrate Mac Magruder dealership demolition
As crews shattered the old Mac Magruder Chevrolet dealership to pieces, people stopped in their tracks to cheer on the demolition of the abandoned building. They took photos and toasted with champagne as the building came tumbling down Monday morning.
“It was a fun thing to do. We loved seeing it come down,” said Palm Springs resident Toni Waggoner.
“People around here are absolutely ecstatic,” said Palm Springs resident Jonathan Freeman.
Crews worked all day to wipe out the “eyesore” on South Palm Canyon Drive. After the dealership closed in 2007, the building became a hangout for skateboarders and the homeless. It attracted crime and fires. It frustrated neighbors.
“It’s been a fire hazard, a bio hazard, there are discarded needles inside of it. People who live in the local vicinity are afraid to walk the streets at night,” said Freeman.
About 6 months ago, Feeman joined the Action For Improvement South Palm Springs group to push the demolition project forward. The City of Palm Springs wanted to tear it down for years and finally filed a lawsuit to force the owners to pay for it.
“It’s a shame it’s taken those seven and a half years before we came along and started doing something. It should’ve happened a lot earlier, but better late than never,” he said.
Once the rubble gets cleaned up, the big question is what’s next for the vacant land? There are talks a housing development could be part of the future plan for the property.
“I just hope something nice here like apartments or a park with Marilyn in it would be really nice,” said Waggoner.
“Another development would be nice to have more homes in the neighborhood. The whole city is going crazy, all of this building is amazing. I’m just happy for the city,” said Palm Springs resident Paul Crippan.
