Lodi News-Sentinel building undergoes ADA upgrades
For more than three months, those driving by the Lodi News-Sentinel many have noticed that the front entrance has been under construction. The steep brick incline that once greeted the public as they entered the front entrance of the building is no more.
According to building owner Marty Weybret, who was formerly the News-Sentinel’s publisher, the entrance is being reconstructed to be accessible under Americans with Disabilities Act requirements.
The upgrades include a new ADA-compliant ramp and the removal of the front display case to make room for a set of stairs, Weybret said. The new ramp is a gentle incline, making it easy for people in wheelchairs to push themselves up the ramp, he said.
“Having handicapped access to a business is just required by law,” Weybret said. “I think it will be a nice upgrade to the building, allowing (people with disabilities) to come in the front. We’ve always had a handicapped ramp by the parking lot, but the city required because of federal law that we have handicapped access in front.”
The back parking lot entrance of the building has been ADA accessible since 1990, Weybret said.
He anticipates that within the next two weeks the front entrance will be open to the public once again.
While he has never received any complaints about the old entrance being inaccessible, Weybret is pleased to have completed the upgrades.
“I get the ADA,” Weybret said. “It’s an important innovation in American society and very few countries go to these lengths ... I’m happy to do it. I’m glad we have that law. It’s an expense, it’s not an unbearable expense, so it will just make it easier for everybody to get services at the Lodi News-Sentinel.”
The new, accessible entrance is only one of many upgrades being done to the Lodi News-Sentinel building. The former newsroom and administrative offices will be closed off and leased to a new tenant.
According to Weybret, although his family sold the Lodi News-Sentinel as a business, they’ve retained the building.
Not long after the sale, the new owners of the newspaper approached him and said that they were willing to trade use of part of the building and move into a smaller portion, surrendering 4,000 square feet for the Weybret family to lease out. In return for moving into smaller quarters they worked out a new, lower rent.
“What’s going on today is the first of two steps,” Weybret said. “We’re dividing the building into two spaces, the space to operate Lodi NewsSentinel, and what was the old newsroom and administration wing is going to be cut off and made ready to lease to a new renter. I’m looking forward to having some new tenants.”
Weybret said a “for lease” sign will go up soon.
“The old newsroom entrance has been closed for a while and will remain closed until there is a new tenant. And then you won’t get into the Sentinel that way — you’ll get into the new business that way,” Weybret said.
Upgrades to divide the space along with front entrance upgrades will cost the family approximately $90,000, Weybret said. The estimate does not include the cost of reconfiguring the vacant space.
The bathrooms in what used to be the newsroom will be made accessible and an ADA entrance will be added to that portion of the building as well.
Electrical circuits for the two spaces will also have to be separated before a tenant can move in.
Administrative offices for the News-Sentinel are being relocated to the circulation area, and the newsroom has already moved to their new space.
“At this point it isn’t reconfigured, so anybody who is interested can approach me, and I’d be happy to show them the space and we’ll help them put it to whatever use they want,” Weybret said.
Weybret is looking for one or two new tenants, and is open to almost any kind of business using the space. According to his commercial real estate agent, the area has a high demand for office space, he said.
Before the recent construction, there hadn’t been any major upgrades to the building since 1990, when they added warehouse space and expanded the newsroom, Weybret said. They completed an exterior upgrade in 2010.
The News-Sentinel’s current location was once the site of a church that Fred Weybret purchased between 1967 and 1968, Marty Weybret said. After purchasing the church, Fred Weybret tore it down, leaving only the basement and Sunday school area. The area was leveled and a floor was put over the basement.
“What people see today was built in 1968 and it was moved into in January of 1969,” Marty Weybret said.