Merced, California, USA

“Page and Turnbull is delighted to see this important landmark, one of Merced’s largest and most beloved buildings, returned to its former glory and coming to life as a bustling hub of civic life in Merced,” says architect Carolyn Kiernat, principal with Page & Turnbull.

“While we are building new housing from the ground up in many places, this classic architectural work, Hotel Tioga, remains a linchpin for Merced’s growth on Main Street,” she continues.

Carolyn Kiernat of global architecture firm Page & Turnbull has led the rehabilitation and transformation of The Tioga hotel, originally built in 1928, and transformed it into an apartment building with retail space on ground level, a fitness center, and room for a future brew pub and café.

The transformation of the Tioga hotel has recently won a 2022 American Architecture Awards by The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies.

The primary goal of the designer team as well as the client’s vision was initially to
restore the historic building and create contemporary, studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments for professionals and UC Merced students in order to provide community space for the residents that was open, airy, and welcoming as well as to
reinvigorate downtown Merced by developing ground floor retail.

One of the most prominent landmarks in Merced, The Tioga is bringing residents back into the City’s downtown core and creating a walkable and accessible Main Street.

Historically significant, the Tioga is the tallest building in Merced and once served as the gateway to Yosemite. The hotel hosted many luminaries, including Marilyn Monroe, and its rooftop sign was a local landmark that was recognizable throughout the City and surrounding area.

An outstanding example of 1920s hotel design, the Tioga’s façade was influenced by the Renaissance Revival style and was noted for its restrained elegance.

At the onset of the project, the once-proud building had fallen into a state of disrepair and the developer enjoyed widespread community support for the rehabilitation of the Tioga. The restoration has returned it to its rightful place of prominence in Merced.

The 90,000 square foot, 6-story Tioga is located at the corner of Main Street and N Street with its entrance along N Street.

The building has a concrete frame with a tooled cement plaster finish.

The building’s exterior was fully restored.

The goal for the exterior was to return the building to its original state: façade surfaces were repaired and cleaned, window air conditioning units were removed, and energy-efficient dual-pane windows matching the originals were installed.

Upgrades to the exterior included an accessible main entry and restoration of the ground floor retail spaces. The signature neon sign at the top of the building had long been missing and was recreated using energy-efficient LED lighting.

Over the years Tioga’s historic main lobby, once a grand and open space, was subdivided and reduced in size.

Non-contributing and non-historic partitions were removed to reveal the original 42’ x 56’ lobby that doubles as a gathering place for residents.

Historic material that remained intact was repaired; portions of the lobby’s historic plaster walls and ceiling that had been lost were carefully reconstructed, providing a historic background for the contemporary furnishings.

The mezzanine, once office space, now serves as Tioga’s social hub, offering pool tables, a screening room, and lounge spaces.

The leasing office is located right off the lobby at the former front desk of the hotel.

Floors 2 through 5 are residential floors each with 17 units.

An additional penthouse level contains 2 large units with views of Merced.

Of the 70 units total, 20 of them are accessible.

The units were designed to accommodate the original hallways while accommodating accessibility standards.

The rehabilitation of the Tioga was possible because of community support and funding that made full use of federal historic tax credits.

This historic building now meets future needs as UC Merced is projected to grow, and it serves as a model for projects in California’s medium-sized cities as housing becomes an increasingly critical issue throughout the state.

Project: The Tioga
Architects: Page & Turnbull
Lead Architect: Carolyn Kiernat
Original Architect: McLeran, Ralph, & Co. (1928)
Contractor: Swinerton Builders
Client: NuovoRE
Photographers: Chad Davies and Manuel Aguiler