‘The Tioga’ sign goes up on historic building, breathing new life into Merced icon

The ongoing renovation of the historic Hotel Tioga in downtown Merced made an important step closer to completion on Monday, as crews installed a massive sign atop the building.

The addition of the new sign, which reads “The Tioga” is an important chapter in the facelift of the once dilapidated building.

A group called Hotel Tioga Investors LLC, has been renovating the building into modern apartments. As part of the renovations, the company said the building will get new kitchens and countertops, flooring and light fixtures.

According to Angela Garrison, executive vice president of GSF Properties Inc., although construction will not be complete by January 2020, a model unit will be available at that time to show those interested in the apartments.

“It looks like right now with the current construction schedule, that we will be ready to start moving customers in, in February of 2020,” Garrison said.

According to Garrison, The Tioga will offer studio units, one-bedroom one-bath units, two-bedroom units available with one or two baths and two penthouses with two bedrooms and two baths.

Built in 1928, the Tioga was not only a world-class hotel but also a center of local activities and regional conferences, according to a column written by Merced County historian Sarah Lim.

From the beginning, San Francisco investors were very interested in financing a new hotel in the Merced community. There had been a history of the Bay Area people investing in Merced from the Crocker-Huffman irrigation project to the Yosemite Valley Railroad, Lim wrote.

The hotel cost about $250,000. On the National Register of Historic Places, during its heyday the Hotel Tioga hosted the likes of John Kennedy, Calvin Coolidge, Eleanor Roosevelt and Marilyn Monroe among others.

The building is one of several ongoing projects in downtown. Renovations continue at the historic El Capitan Hotel — a former apartment building at 1715 M St. that will see new life, thanks to a $15 million investment to refurbish the building and make it into a 114-room boutique hotel.

Anyone interested in The Tioga apartments can visit thetiogamerced.com and submit their application by filling out an online form. Following the submission of the form, they will receive an email with a link allowing them to schedule a tour, according to Garrison.

This story was originally published December 16, 2019 at 5:38 PM.