FIXER-UPPER:
Owner must shore up Main Street building to avoid trial.
Downtown officials and the owner of a damaged — and possibly hazardous — building on the South Main pedestrian mall struck a deal Monday to avoid a trial in Environmental Court.
Allan Long, owner of 107 S. Main, agreed to immediately start work to stabilize the 105-year-old, four-story building, Judge Larry Potter announced after the two sides negotiated nearly an hour outside the courtroom.
If by Aug. 13 both sides are not in agreement that the possible solution is working, then a trial will start at 1:30 p.m. that day, Potter said.
A rainstorm on July 23 caused the already damaged roof to partially collapse above Main Street Mall where pedestrians continually walk.
The Downtown Memphis Commission had sued in Environmental Court earlier this year, alleging the long-vacant building was a public nuisance.
When the roof partially collapsed last month, the commission sought emergency action by the court, asking that the building be placed into receivership to allow the Downtown Memphis Commission to make the repairs.
Long had made some repairs earlier this year, but an engineer’s report for the commission concluded those repairs were ineffective.
Long has a pending contract to sell the building, his attorney, Adam Nahmias, told Potter on Monday. Long would make the repairs anyway as part of the sales agreement, Nahmias said.
The out-of-court deal averted what was to be a trial on Monday. The trial was poised to pit two, competing engineering reports, one on behalf of Long and the other for the Downtown Memphis Commission.
Both reports agree repairs are needed. But Long’s engineer determined the building poses no immediate threat to the public while the commission’s engineer said the threat does exist.
“While the building does need extensive repairs, it does not pose a safety concern to the public,” states engineer Kevin M. Poe in his letter to his client, Long.
“Our examination of the front wall of the building did not show any signs of failure or danger to the public along S. Main Street,’’ states the Poe Engineering findings.
However, the engineering firm Davis Patrikios Criswell states in a report to its client, Downtown Memphis Commission, “In our professional engineering judgment, additional collapse is probable; therefore, repairs should begin immediately to prevent possible progressive collapse of the building.
“If additional collapsing occurs, it is probable that the unreinforced masonry exterior walls would be damaged, become laterally unbraced causing the unreinforced masonry to be susceptible to collapse,’’ the report states.
Both engineering firms found damage to rafters from roof leaks.
“Once the rafters have been properly repaired, it is important that a new roof be installed as soon as possible to prevent continued deterioration of the roof framing,” states Poe’s report for Long.
The Davis Patrikios Criswell report for the Downtown Memphis Commission states, “After examination of the property and review of the aerial history, it is our professional engineering judgment that the damages to the commercial building were consistent with damages from lack of maintenance to the roof coverings which has accelerated the deterioration of the roof framing members and decking.’’
The building has been vacant since Long purchased it in 1998, the commission engineer’s report states. Now known as the Long Building, the property housed a Woolworth’s discount store for much of the 20th Century.