On Monday, May 31st – the GAAR Office Building sustained rain and hail damage resulting in a partial roof collapse in the Rio Grande conference room. The other three conference rooms, kitchen, and portions of the lobby experienced extensive flooding. The GAAR Offices were closed due to the Memorial Day holiday, therefore no injuries were sustained by staff or members.

Multiple alarms went off causing GAAR staff and the Fire Department to arrive rather quickly. An extraction service has been on scene since Monday to mitigate the damage. On Tuesday, the damage was reviewed by the insurance company. A structural engineer will assess the north end to determine which areas need to be barricaded from access.

The administrative portion of the building was not compromised, and we are working with a clean-up crew to get the lobby cleaned up so we can bring most of the staff back by the end of the week. We hope to have the kitchen and internet café available to members next week.

The 1645 University Building appears to be undamaged.

Updates will be provided as more information is available.

For Now:

• The building is closed to walk-in traffic
• Limited staff will be on-site
• All member services are available via phone & email
• Lockboxes are available (please call ahead so they can be ready for pick-up)
• All on-site meetings will be canceled or migrated to Zoom - please check with your staff liaison or meeting organizer for details
• CE Classes and Committee Meetings will be moved to Zoom access

Thank you for your patience as we work to safely return to normal operations.

For further assistance, please contact us at 505-842-1433.