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Photo by Steve Ricci
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A portion of a former gymnasium building, built as part of Glazier Stove Works in the early 1900s, collapsed last Thursday during renovation work of the Clocktower Complex.
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A sad and gloomy sight appeared shortly after 10 a.m. last Thursday, when a large portion of a historic building in Chelsea collapsed.
Bricks cascaded downhill into a new fountain at a courtyard below, settling into forlorn heaps.
By Saturday, all that remained of the nearly 100-year-old building in Chelsea's Clocktower Complex was rubble.
Earlier last Thursday, the building, formerly a gymnasium built in the early 1900s as part of the Glazier Stove Works complex, stood as a stately shell with a solid brick edifice, new windows and a new roof.
McKinley Properties Inc. was renovating the building as part of a large-scale revitalization of the historic Clocktower Complex, which is being redeveloped into a multi-use facility, including new offices and commercial space.
The gymnasium building was constructed as a wellness center for workers, many of whom commuted from Detroit by train for extended periods.
John Wyeth, the regional property manager for McKinley who is overseeing the project, did not respond to telephone calls from The Chelsea Standard regarding causes of the collapse or future plans for the site.
Taylor-based J.S. Vig Construction Co. is the general contractor for the project.
Although he could not comment on specifics, Chelsea City Manager Mike Steklac said Monday that he heard reports that workers were preparing to erect a retaining wall and were focusing efforts on the northwest corner of the building.
Before the collapse, workers allegedly discovered the building's foundation was destabilized, and were evaluating how to proceed when about half of the building collapsed.
No workers were injured, and no one was trapped inside the debris.
Bruce Connell, building official for the city of Chelsea, who examined the site last Thursday, said excavators, who were working on park landscaping below the building, dug too close to the foundation of the structure on its northwest corner.
"The ground underneath it was sand, and lateral pressure pushed the sand and everything from underneath the footing," Connell said.
"Evidently, they didn't understand (the soil composition) or people were coming to shore the building up."
Connell, who spoke with J.S. Vig Construction Co. representatives this week, said he was told the developer plans to construct a new building very similar to the collapsed structure at the same site.
Connell said McKinley might have decided to destroy the remaining structure because it could have been structurally compromised.
"They probably figured it was easier, safer and probably cheaper to tear it down," Connell said.
Chelsea police were the first to arrive at the scene.
The Chelsea Area Fire Authority received a call at 10:06 a.m., and responded along with firefighter crews from the city of Ann Arbor as well as Pittsfield and Ann Arbor townships.
Several Huron Valley Ambulance crews also responded.
Steve Jaskot, the Fire Authority's acting co-chief, said Monday that the fire crews were called because they each had specific equipment and training to deal with a building collapse.
Examples of the equipment included wooden shoring materials, as well as listening devices to locate people trapped inside rubble.
"Initially, we had no idea if anyone was trapped or not," Jaskot said.
Jaskot said emergency officials determined no one was missing after J.S. Vig confirmed that all tradesmen and equipment were accounted for.
Firefighters cut off a gas line that attached to the building on a side that was not compromised, in case the rest of the building was to collapse.
They also cordoned off an area one-and-a-half times the height of the building in case of further collapse.
Fire crews called a local building inspector, as well as Occupational Safety and Health Administration officials to the site.
Jaskot said firefighters left the scene after determining there were no fires, no one was trapped inside and that a safe perimeter around the building was established.
Debris removal fell under the purview of the property owners, contractors and insurance carriers, Jaskot said, adding that property officials decided to raze the remainder of the building Saturday.
"As the day wore on Thursday, they decided there was more movement of the building," Jaskot said.
Jaskot said he noticed soil around the building was sandy and didn't seem to contain much clay, which would have made it more stable.
He added that no one was digging around the site when the foundation gave way.
Water lines to feed the building already had been installed, although electrical connections had not been established.
City workers shut off the water supply before the Saturday demolition.
Steklac said McKinley removed a second floor in the building, which formerly supported an indoor track above the gymnasium.
A potential use for the renovated building was developing it into an upscale restaurant with a microbrewery, with large windows and tall kettles rising up to two stories high, he said.
Steklac said he has not talked to Wyeth regarding new plans for the site after the collapse.
"It was too bad the building was lost," Steklac said. "We were very fortunate no one was near it or in it, and we're very thankful no one was hurt.
"We can always deal with a building or properties, but it's always hard to deal with injuries or someone being killed."
Staff Writer Steve Ricci can be reached at 475-1371 or sricci@heritage.com.
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