On Friday, June 2, more than 140 people were forced to evacuate a condominium in Minnesota due to concerns raised by a structural engineer about the stability of the building. This news came just days after the partial collapse of an apartment building in Iowa.
According to a report by The Minneapolis Star Tribune, residents of the 15-story, 94-unit Rochester Towers Condominium (207 5 Avenue SW) were asked to temporarily seek residence elsewhere to manage shoring work on the building’s structure. A news release from the City of Rochester states that the engineering firm responsible for evaluating the building’s structural issues has informed the city that the successful completion of shoring operations has restored stability in the building
As a result, the city opened the closed 2nd Street SW to vehicular traffic on Saturday, June 3, and scheduled the opening of northbound lanes on 5th Avenue SW from 2nd Street SW to 3rd Street SW after the pullout of construction materials. However, residents have not yet been able to enter the building as a discussion on ongoing repairs was scheduled for Monday, June 5 between the City’s Community Development Department and engineers hired by the company condominium property management.
Less than a week ago, part of an apartment building collapsed in Davenport, Iowa. According to a report by The New York Times, as a result of the collapse, three men had gone missing; however, a body was later recovered from the site. The same report also states that city officials have found claims by a structural engineer, of which the building’s owner had been informed, about the instability of the building’s clay brick facade in its west side, with the brick elements appearing to be separated from the wall below. Further, the report also states that another wall of the building was also found unstable and some residents had also registered complaints about the unsafe nature of the building.
