Arizona Watcher
City crews working with Tucson’s VIVA program demolished a building at First Avenue and Fort Lowell Road in an operation officials say aims to disrupt criminal networks.
Law-enforcement personnel coordinated the demolition from the Westside Police Service Center while city crews completed the removal at the intersection.
City officers and staff framed the action as part of VIVA’s enforcement and public-safety strategy targeting locations linked to illicit activity.
Public reaction was mixed: some residents said the removal was overdue and called for more demolitions, while others criticized city leadership and policy choices.
City records list the demolition under permit TC-DMO-1222-00032 covering multiple parcels and show earlier permits and floodplain approvals from 2021–2025.
A VIVA memorandum and a University of Arizona evaluation reported drops in gun violence at targeted corridors with no displacement; related code-enforcement cases were closed June 10, 2026.
City crews working with Tucson’s VIVA program have torn down a building at the intersection of First Avenue and Fort Lowell Road as part of an operation officials say is intended to disrupt criminal networks. Officers coordinating from the Westside Police Service Center and…