Infignos Media - Demolition vibration possible cause of wall section's collapse at old 13th street building

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Demolition vibration possible cause of wall section's collapse at old 13th street building

Thursday, February 9, 2012

A large chunk of the east side of the former Anniston Land Company building collapsed sometime Tuesday, leaving more bricks and mortar in the demolition zone block downtown — the future home of the city’s justice center.

Plans for the new complex didn’t include tearing down the 19th century structure, one of the oldest in Anniston, which city officials and members of the Historic Preservation Commission have looked into saving.

Those plans might have taken a hit.

Jim Miller, chairman of the Public Building Authority, said demolition equipment likely caused the vibration that knocked the three-story wall down near the back side of the building.

“I wouldn’t say it’s hopeless, but it would require a lot of money” to renovate the building, Miller said. “It’s obviously a huge obstacle to overcome.”

Or, it might actually push the renovation process along ahead of schedule.

Anniston resident David Schneider, director of the Alabama Trust for Historic Preservation, said if anything, the accident helped, not hindered, the building’s chances of surviving. The wall on the east side of the building contained several arched windows that showed signs of considerable deterioration, he said. If the building was going to be left standing, the wall would need to have been completely torn down anyway.

“The dismantling process has already been done,” said Schneider, who took a look at the damage Wednesday.

Schneider said it was reasonable to expect that type of damage with the demolition going on in the area considering the weak state of the mortar and bricks in some sections of the building.

But the main front structure, Schneider said, should be fine.

“It doesn’t impact the stability of the building,” Schneider said. “It doesn’t affect the basic prognosis of renovating the building.”

Controversy over the demolition on the block bound by Gurnee Avenue, Moore Avenue, 12th Street and 13th Street came to light Tuesday after Schneider sent an email to city officials alerting them to possible violations of state and local laws. The demolition of a structure in a historic district must be approved the Historical Preservation Commission with a “certificate of appropriateness.”

Joan McKinney, chairwoman of the commission, said the organization hadn’t received an application for the certificate.

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Keywords: Wall.collapse,13th street, building,demolition

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