Members from the Marker construction crew stand next to the site of the old Fiesta Grande Mexican restaurant building site as they overlook the collapse of the Avalon Theater. (Journal-Tribune photo by Sam Dillon)
Concerns over safety of other buildings raised
For the second time in less than a decade, Marysville’s Uptown is dealing with a collapsed building.
Thursday evening, the Avalon Theatre, 121 S. Main, collapsed. That incident is causing some to question the safety of buildings in the Uptown.
“Marysville has to become a community where people get serious about property maintenance and the safety of our structures,” said Donald Boerger, the Marysville City Council member that represents the Uptown. “Our buildings are not being properly maintained.”
He said anyone walking around the Uptown “is going to see serious, serious issues in many of these buildings.”
The Avalon isn’t the first historic building in Marysville to collapse. In the afternoon hours of June 29, 2012, a long sustained straight-line wind storm blew through Union County, contributing to the collapse of a 130-year-old building that housed the Fiesta Grande Mexican restaurant.
A Fiesta Grande employee called 911 at 4:59 p.m. to report the collapse of the roof and the west wall of the third floor, prompting the evacuation of 50 customers and employees inside during the collapse. No injuries were reported.
The owners of the building decided to tear it down on July 1, 2012.
The building was a part of the Whitney Block, built by Alonzo Whitney in 1884, that sits on Fifth Street between Main and Court streets.
Boerger said the Avalon collapse has created a hole in the Robinson Block.
“The Robinson block is iconic,” Boerger said.
He said the city needs to help protect old buildings “whether it is from deterioration or demolition.”
“I think we need to have the buildings properly inspected. We need to hold property owners accountable for the maintenance of their structures,” Boerger said.
He added that, “we don’t know if we have a safety problem.”
“I don’t think anybody knows the state or stability of our structures,” Boerger said.
City Manager Terry Emery seems to agree. This morning he said the Avalon building was, “in worse shape than we anticipated.”
Emery said it is the county building department that conducts inspections on the city’s Uptown buildings.
Fred Slova, chief building official for the Union County Engineer’s Office, said his office inspects buildings under construction or renovation.
“Once a final occupancy permit is issued, it falls to the fire department to conduct the yearly inspections,” Slova said.
He said that if the county gets a complaint, it will investigate the building, but does not “go looking for problems.”
Marysville Fire Chief Jay Riley said the Division of Fire does conduct yearly inspections on all commercial buildings. He said the focus of those inspections is fire safety, not structural integrity.
So who does inspect the building structure and maintenance?
“Once the building goes up, I am not sure anybody does unless something happens,” Riley said.
The chief said that if inspectors did see something of concern, they would contact the county building department.
Emery said that if council wants to approve the money, the city could hire a structural engineer to conduct the inspections.
Boerger said the city needs to be proactive, taking both safety and history into consideration.
“The biggest concerns: What are we doing to insure the safety of our residents in the Uptown and what are we doing to protect the integrity of the buildings?” Boerger said. “Once they are gone, they are gone.”
He said he would like to see the city hire a full-time preservationist who can look at the buildings and their safety. He said that person could work with property owners and also help generate funding for historic buildings and their preservation and restoration. He said it will be a slow process, but worth it to see buildings standing for another 150 years.
“There is no short fix to a long-term problem,” Boerger said.
More photos of the Avalon Collapse Feature Photos
On June 29, 2012, a storm with sustained winds reaching 80 mph, hit Union County. The storm damaged the 130-year-old building that housed the Fiesta Grand Mexican restaurant. The owners of the building decided the damage was too great and decided to tear it down. On July 1, 2012, the building was demolished. The building has not been rebuilt. (File photo)