Controlled demolition was expected to begin the afternoon of April 10 at a partially collapsed Philadelphia parking lot that was under construction in the city’s Grays Ferry neighborhood.
The April 8 incident left one worker dead, while two others were presumed dead, according to Mayor Cherelle Parker, who spoke at a news conference Thursday.
Crews initially planned to deconstruct the unstable, unfinished garage being built for the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. But after consulting with structural engineers, officials have decided instead to demolish the garage, according to media reports. Emergency crews also used specially trained dogs, robots and drones to search for workers who were still alive but had found nothing.
Fire Marshal Jeffrey Thompson told local reporters that crews deployed dogs trained to find human remains. “Both independent of each other, and both struck independently,” Thompson said, “so we were confident that what we were dealing with was no longer a rescue but a recovery.”
Although the victims were not identified, Mayor Parker said they belonged to Ironworkers Local 401. A person who answered the phone at Local 401 on April 10 said the union will make a statement to the media on April 13.
Permits were properly issued and inspections were up to date for the $32.27 million project, according to the mayor. Construction on the seven-story, multi-level, 335,000-square-foot parking garage began in 2025. Built to replace a surface parking lot, the garage was expected to have up to 1,012 spaces and was expected to be completed this year, according to city documents.
The mayor said the city will investigate the collapse, as will the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration. A specific cause has not yet been identified. In her press conference, Mayor Parker described a progressive collapse scenario that appeared to begin with a segment of precast concrete on the top floor and spread through the seven levels of the garage.
Looking for quick answers on construction and engineering topics?
Try Ask ENR, our new intelligent AI search tool.
Ask ENR →
PreCast Services Inc., which was installing precast concrete floor and roof components on the project at the time, could not immediately be reached for comment.
HSC Builders & Construction Managers is the construction manager for the project. It was last ranked No. 40 on the 2019 ENR MidAtlantic Top Contractors list, with revenue of $186.93 million.
In a statement to the media, the firm expressed its support for the families of the workers in the collapse. “We go to great lengths every day to ensure safe and secure workplaces for our workers, subcontractors and the general public. We have never experienced a collapse or failure in the company’s history. Our immediate mission is to do everything we can to help the dead workers and their families.”
The engineer of record, structural engineer and architect have not been publicly confirmed in the reports and the Philadelphia L&I system contains this information. A rendering of the project credited to design firm THA Consulting Inc. was published online by the Philadelphia Inquirer.
A person who answered the phone at the company said, “We have no comment at this time.”
Representation of the parking lot. Image courtesy of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. CHOP could not be reached for comment, but issued a media release. “The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia is aware of a serious construction incident at our parking lot site at 3000 Grays Ferry Avenue in Philadelphia. We are prioritizing the safety of construction workers at this time and working closely with the City of Philadelphia and our construction partners. We will share additional information as it becomes available.”
