Historic Packing Plant in Orange, CA - Merlex Stucco, Inc.
Merlex Stucco is a small stucco manufacturing business built from the Midwestern tenacity of its founder, Merle VerBurg, who established the company back in 1963 providing high-quality stucco and restoration products to the Southern California building industry. Since 1992, this legacy has been carried forward by Merle’s daughter, Susan VerBurg. Long before Merlex Stucco acquired this building in the area which was known back in the 1920’s as Olive Heights, this facility was operated by Olive Hillside Groves packing house and shared the railroad with Olive Fruit Company packing plant located directly behind it. Originally built out of wood in the early 1900’s, was rebuilt out of brick in 1928 due to a fire that damaged the structure in 1914. Merlex Stucco will be celebrating its 50th anniversary and is proud to be the only stucco manufacturer still standing in Orange County and still going strong producing superior products inside a historical landmark in the city Orange, CA.-This unique and structurally sound building could be one of the most sought after spaces in the neighborhood with the area slowly being redeveloped around it. It was recently under consideration for eligibility with the local, state, and National Register of Historic Places both under Criterion C (for its architecture) and Criterion A (for its tie to the commercial and developmental trends of the area).
