Fencing is up around the Gambini block, heavy equipment has rolled in, and the block’s owner has started to tear things down.

Teutsch Partners LLC, the Seattle-based real estate development firm that owns the block off South Division between First and Second streets southeast — also called the Chamber of Commerce block — intends to build a four-story retirement community in its place, offering 111 assisted-living and 16 memory-care apartments.

Its 168,331 square feet of space will be divided between the below-grade parking level and three stories of memory-care units above ground, a mixture of one-bedroom, one-bath studio and two-bedroom, two-bath apartments.

Renderings of Merrill Gardens at Auburn show a U-shaped building with a center-landscaped courtyard, part of the courtyard accessible to the public, facing South Division.

One entrance will be off First Street Southeast and the second off Second Street Southeast.

City officials estimate construction could start sometime next spring.

In 2007, the Economic Development Administration awarded the City a $2.2 million federal grant and a $7.2 million local revitalization bond that upgraded streets, sidewalks and utilities to support such construction on South Division.

City officials estimate that between them, the Trek Apartment retail project on the former Cavanaugh block on East Main and the Merrill Gardens project on South Division will bring 300-500 new residents to the downtown core.

According to its website, Merrill Gardens, a privately-owned, family-run company, owns and operates 21 senior living communities in four states with a focus on lifestyle. Each Merrill Gardens community is different in physical structure, reflecting the characteristics of the area where it is and the needs of its residents.

Teutsch Partners, LLC was formed in 1987 as a privately-owned, regionally-focused, commercial real estate services and development company.