Officials to order demolition of old Seattle Times office

SEATTLE – City officials are expected to issue a demolition permit for the old Seattle Times building next week after complaints due to squatters and fires.

The Seattle Times reported that city Department of Construction and Inspections spokesman Bryan Stevens said the permit would be issued next week and after that the property owner, Onni Group, would be expected to take immediate action.

Seattle officials announced plans earlier this year to speed up demolition of the old newspaper building, but progress had stalled.

In the meantime, the building has become a home for transients and fires, including a blaze on Wednesday and two previous fires in the winter.

The Seattle Times sold the building to Onni Group in 2013 after moving to a nearby building in 2011. The building, constructed in 1931, was deemed a historical landmark in the 1990s.