Still, he praised the city’s responsiveness to his concerns so far.
“The city has been stand-up about the responsibilities and the correction,” Riegel said.
In recent days, the city approved spending about $1.95 million on emergency work that will include the stabilization of 34 N. Main St., adjacent to Stratacache Tower.
A city contract with Bladecutters Inc. says the company will perform emergency stabilization work on a “structurally compromised building” at 34 N. Main. The funding also will be used for other emergency demolition and stabilization activities.
“This structure presents an urgent public safety concern, and its stabilization is critical to prevent further deterioration or hazard,” says a memo from Steve Gondol, Dayton’s director of planning, neighborhoods and development.
Just after the storm on March 15 (a Saturday), some 80 feet of the north parapet wall at 34 N. Main “collapsed leaving the remaining wall at the west end in a very unstable condition on the verge of collapse,” Richard Meyer, president of Dayton structural engineering firm Shell & Meyer Associates Inc., said in an April 25 report to Dayton city government.
Stratacache Tower is located at 40 N. Main, at the southeast corner of Second and Main streets, next to 34 N. Main.
Meyer wrote in his report that he viewed 34 N. Main as “structurally sound.”
“As a result of my visual observations, I submit that the steel and concrete framing of the main structure appear to be in good condition and structurally sound. The exterior brick and stone are generally in serviceable condition except at the penthouse walls and attic walls adjacent to the collapse area where there is a considerable amount of deterioration,” Meyer wrote.
As of April 17, temporary clamps were performing well in stabilizing walls against high winds, and eight steel brace frames had been installed along an east wall on the building, he also wrote.
Stratacache Tower suffered some 22 windows either blown out or damaged, Riegel said. That alone is close to $300,000 in cost.
Given the cost of windows and building materials these days, reaching $1 million in damage can happen faster than some may realize.
“If you blink an eye, you can spend a million dollars on building damage,” Riegel said.
Meyer wrote that the roof above a vacant Subby’s restaurant and the reinforced concrete roof above the one-story mechanical rooms of the 34 N. Main building were “severely damaged by falling bricks and will need to be demolished and rebuilt.”
“In the interim, these areas will require management of rain water at the large open holes in the structure,” he wrote.
Riegel said city government has responded to his concerns so far.
Asked if the city is helping with his costs, he said ultimately, that will be up to insurance companies. “We tally everything up and get with our insurer. Our insurer talks with their (the city’s) insurer. ... but on the whole, the city has been quite reasonable.”
“At the moment, everything seems to be proceeding in a reasonable fashion,” Riegel said. “We’ll keep a watch.”
About 100 of his employees were displaced by the damage initially, he said. Now, they’re back in Stratacache Tower, the headquarters for Riegel’s global digital and retail technology business.
There had been no indications that the structure at 34 N. Main was unsafe or unstable, a deputy Dayton city manager told local news media in March.
“We’ve been in and through and around that building quite extensively, particularly last year,” Joe Parlette, Dayton’s deputy city manager, said in the days immediately following the wind storm.
Asked if the city received any warning that the building or parts of it might be unstable in strong winds, he said at the time: “We did not.”
The city already had a $980,000 service agreement with Bladecutters for emergency demolition and debris removal activities. But the city commission this week authorized increasing that contract to about $2.9 million.
City documents say that the additional funds will pay for emergency demolition and debris removal services, including stabilization, asbestos handling, excavation, backfill, site grading and landscaping.
“This significant investment continues to underscore our commitment to public safety by enabling critical emergency demolition and stabilization of fire-damaged and structurally compromised buildings across the city,” said LaShea Lofton, Dayton’s deputy city manager. “A portion of these funds will specifically cover the emergency remediation work required at 34 N. Main, as a priority site due to its downtown location and the immediate public health and safety risks that it posed.”
