City to spend $1.5 million to fix partial collapse of high-rise building
The city of Dayton approved spending $1.5 million to fix storm damage to a downtown building.
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The building, located at 34 North Main Street, is tucked next to the Stratachache Tower.
In March, the facade on the roof gave way, sending debris tumbling down.
The danger and damage are greater than anticipated and hidden below ground.
News Center 7 got a tour of the building and was brought to the basement.
The force of thousands of pounds of falling brick from the roof tore through a reinforced, foot-thick concrete floor.
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Ken Jackson, Dayton nuisance abatement supervisor, said it did not impact the structure of the building.
It did leave a large hole where rainwater from storm drains flooded the basement.
That threatened the basement electrical and utility nerve center of the building.
“We started sealing it up, we put the sandbags down to prevent water from coming in,” Jackson said.
Jackson spearheaded the repair project.
He said all the work had to happen before they could begin work on the roof.
“We had about 100 feet by 10 feet by two feet thick that fell off the side of the building,” Jackson said.
He said the collapse weakened other parts of the facade.
City workers brought in dozens of huge clamps to stabilize them and began the massive repairs.
“Everything that came off the building had to come off by crane, and everything we put back on the roof had to come off our crane,” Jackson said.
Both the emergency roof repairs and the new roof on the building are scheduled to be completed in approximately a month.
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