L&I commissioner says "precautions" were taken prior to Old City collapse

GMCS Editorial: JPG, the demolition contractor on this project, is a recognized, skilled and professional organization.  They fact that nobody was injured in this unfortunate series of events on a planned demolition with identified structural deficiencies is a testament to their professionalism and experience in this very dangerous and sometimes unpredictable field.  

The partial collapse of the Shirt Corner building in Old City was blamed on the buckling of one of the highest walls on the demolition site, the site’s owner said at a press conference Thursday.

A 40-foot party wall from 257 Market St. buckled as workers tried to tear it down in pieces, trying to pull it to the east, said Leo Addimando, managing partner of Alterra Property Group LLC which owns the buildings. Instead, it buckled and fell to the west, crushing much of the adjacent building, 259 Market St., and sending bricks and other debris into North 3rd Street.

It happened at around 1 p.m. on Thursday, at the height of lunchtime in Old City lunchtime. Multiple people told the Philadelphia Business Journal that they were in the 3rd St. stores just across from the demolition site. Some even said they felt rubble hit the walls of the buildings.

No one was injured in the collapse.

For the past three weeks, workers had been using excavators and other heavy equipment to tear down a total of seven buildings, working east to west.

Up to that point, the demolition company, JPC, had been using “careful handwork” to take down the buildings, Addimando said. Crews are clearing the site for a development that will include a  CVS store and 59 apartments.

The city Department of Licenses & Inspections declared the buildings “imminently dangerous” on Jan. 24. A demolition permit was issued Feb. 5 and demolition work started Feb. 24.

Addimando said in the conference that inspections “exposed structural issues that caused us concern.”

L&I Commissioner Carlton Williams said “every safety precaution had been taken” and the site had been monitored by L&I inspectors on a daily basis. Williams said the June building collapse that killed six people and injured 13 has meant “added precautions” for all demolitions around the city.

Addimando said there were six safety “spotters” on site urging pedestrians to walk on the other side of the street, telling people to move cars and, at times, blocking North 3rd St. from traffic.

Workers were aware 257 Market, which dated to the late 1800s, posed some problems because of the height of its walls and the fragile nature of the remaining structure. At the urging of the Fire Department, pedestrian walkways were moved further out from the demolition site last weekend, officials said. A restaurant adjacent to the site, Bistro 7 (at 7 N. 3rd St.) had been paid to remain closed for two weeks.

“Although not foreseen, we knew this was a possibility,” Addimando said.

Wayne Dunlap, president of Constructure Management, the general contractor, said at the press conference that workers were “concerned” about the 40-foot wall’s demolition and “the possible chance it would kick to the west.”

“Unfortunately, the worst case did happen,” he said.

The demolition company, JPC, did not have a representative at the press conference. 

The Old City lunchtime crowd was shaken by the noise, dust and debris.

“It scared the heck out of me because I saw this big plume of smoke come down. You couldn’t see anything. It was all smoke. Bricks were scattered everywhere,” said Patricia Krupa, who was headed into a FedEx store two doors from the collapse. “Yeah, they were telling people to [go toward 4th Street on Market Street], but they let me through anyway.”

Her Lexus was the only car damaged.  

Source: Philadelphia Business Journal