He said part of the facade’s instability comes from the structure itself and the rest is because the partial demolition that occurred earlier this week cut it free from its mooring to the 1908 portion of the building that will not be demolished, Sorrell said.
The 1908 portion of the building and its facade must remain under an agreement with the city and Cox Media Group, former owner of the building.
The city Landmarks Commission had ordered that the 1922 facade remain, even as demolition contractor Steve R. Rauch Inc. tore down the building behind it. On Monday, work was halted after city officials saw that a chunk of building facade had been removed.
“There was a misunderstanding in the permitting process,” said Steve Papa, a partner in Student Suites.
The company is building an $18 million to $20 million 200-unit student housing project on the site.
Sorrell said the incident revealed a flaw in the city’s permitting system. The Landmarks Commission order somehow didn’t get translated into the wrecking permits that were issued, a problem the city will move to fix, Sorrell said.
As a result, the city-approved blueprints Rauch used to begin work did not show that the facade was to be saved, said Scott Wells, project manager for Rauch.
Sorrell said the Landmarks Commission did not have to vote on the action to tear down what remains of the 1922 addition because the facade is an imminent threat to public safety.
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