On Feb. 17, excavators tore down a guest house and the Annie Lester house on the 0.7 acre lot in the Jefferson Park neighborhood.
Demolition records show that both homes were to be demolished, ordered by the company U S Sales Company LLC.
Nicholas, a University of Arizona alum, lived in that guest house for five years.
Nicholas wanted to only use his first name because of privacy regarding his housing status.
In the summer of 2025, he got a call from the company he was renting this studio from, 100 UA Rentals.
“They warned me in advance that they were looking to demolish that house. And I knew it was coming. I didn't expect it to happen so fast, I suppose,” Nicholas said.
Nicholas actually was renting with 100 UA Rentals before he moved to Lester Street. It was his last year as a student at the University of Arizona during the COVID-19 pandemic when he moved based on the rental company’s referral.
“I knew that there was this massive house right next to it but I wasn't really familiar with any of the story,” Nicholas said. “It was a pretty cool house and it was a shame to see it in disrepair like that.”
Tucson City Ward 3 Council Member Kevin Dahl remembers seeing this lot fondly. Dahl’s newsletter detailed stories of this neighborhood and the sad news of the recent demolition.
“I’ve never been inside the house,” Dahl writes. “But for decades, I have admired it from the street and have sadly watched it deteriorate during the last few years.”
The guesthouse was built anywhere from 1914-1918 according to Pima County Assessors. Nicholas saw the history of the previous owners from etchings marked on the sides of the building.
But then, in December, after months of no follow-up from 100 UA Rentals, he got a call again.
“They told me we want to demolish this house as soon as possible [and] when can you get off the lot,” he said. “That Friday before Christmas is like when they started to pursue it. And it just seemed really urgent like they really wanted to demolish this house as soon as humanly possible.”
Nicholas was the only person notified of the demolition in the neighborhood, as neighbors only heard the noise of the machinery on that fateful day in mid February. By that time, Nicholas had already moved out.
Councilman Dahl writes that since the demolished Lester house was privately owned with a lot of autonomy, “we couldn’t find a way to stop [the demolition].”
“I wish that 1177 E Lester could have lived on with similar owners, ones who appreciated its once grandeur and fine history,” Dahl concludes in his newsletter.
The owner, Michael A. Goodman bought the lot in 2012 with another LLC from the previous owner Esther Bryan.
The contractor of the demolition was US Sales Company LLC and the buyer of the parcel was under Asset Assistance LLC; both are owned by Goodman.
Joan Daniels from the Jefferson Park Neighborhood Association said that she has dealt with Goodman in the past, but to no avail, there is rarely any conversation.
“He's never never dealt openly with the neighborhood about what he's doing. It's always been a negative experience with him,” Daniels said.
In early March, Nicholas decided to speak to some neighbors about his situation. He told AZPM that the demolition has actually made him closer with his neighbors.
Nicholas moved out in early January and 100 UA Rentals assisted him in finding a new place to rent a mile away.
Overall, his experience with 100 UA Rentals has been positive and he does not have any complaints. However, he is sad about the history lost on that lot, and hopes that other buildings can be saved in the future.
“I've always had a lot of neighbors and just folks come up to the house and ask me about it and ask to walk around it,” he said. “So I was very sad, you know, I was always aware that this is like a piece of history that's being removed.”
