Developer says steel column‘kickedaway’

Unexpected problems arose Monday afternoon during the demolition of the formerWright StateUniversity Kettering Center in downtown Dayton when a structural steel column “kicked away” from other columns, according to the project developer.

The building, at the corner of East Monument AvenueandNorth St. Clair Street, is being torn down to make way for a newsix-story apartment project.

BrentCrawford, principalof developer CrawfordHoying, said they are still investigating the extent of the damage, but it appears to be minor.

The incident led to RTA lines being knocked down and damage to a sculpture at RiverScape MetroPark.

Crawford said the building was in the process of being demolished and did not collapse.

He said Complete Clearing is the contractor on the project and, prior to demolition, they pulled a city permit to close all lanes of one-way traffic on Monument

Avenue.

“This is a standard precautionwe followwhen demolishing a building close to the street,” he said.

Crawford said the incident

did not lead to any citations, and he does not expect any to be forthcoming.

Proper safety precautions wereputinplacebeforedemolitioncommenced, andthey

will remain in place for the rest of the project, he said.

Safetymeasures included installing security fencing around the perimeter of the jobsite, conducting onsite

safety walks and closing sidewalks and all lanes of oneway traffic, he said.

“Even with all precautions in place, accidents unfortunatelycanstilloccur,” hesaid.

During demolition, pieces sometimes fall differently than anticipated, which is why they obtained a lane-closure permit, he said.

The remaining building material will be removed,

and construction onthe new apartment building should start in January, he said.

“We will continue to maintain the highest safety standards and look forward to moving forwardonthis exciting project in downtown Dayton,” he said.

Demolitionwork did not go as plannedMonday at the formerWright StateUniversity Kettering Center in downtownDayton.Largemetal beams, bricks, concrete and other building debris collapsed onto Monument Avenue, taking downRTAlines and heavily damaging a sculpture at RiverScapeMetroPark across the street.

PHOTOS BY JIMNOELKER/STAFF Largemetal beams, bricks, concrete and other building debris collapses on East MonumentAvenue during a demolitionmishapMonday at the formerWright State University Kettering Center in downtown Dayton.