CLINTON, Iowa — A building located at 1006-1008 South 4th Street in Clinton collapsed on Friday.
In a press release, the city said it had no reason to believe anyone was in the building at the time of the collapse. It's marked as "no trespassing" and secured against unlawful entry, according to the release, but it's possible people could have illegally entered the building. A search of the debris will begin as soon as possible.
Following the collapse on Friday, city officials began assessing the safety of the remaining portions of the building.
The three-story brick building was built in 1900 and was part of the Seaman Building complex, sharing walls with 1004 South 4th St, according to a recent report by the East Central Intergovernmental Association Brownfields Program. The building was a mixed-use property with a commercial storefront on the lower level and apartments on the upper stories. According to the report, the property was been primarily underutilized and vacant for the past 20 years.
It also reports that the structure has drastically deteriorated in recent years with sections of it exposed to the elements. Asbestos-containing material was also a concern, given the age of the structure.
The City of Clinton took ownership of the building by court order in Sept. 2021 because the prior owners "had allowed it to fall into disrepair," the press release from the city said.
The city owns properties located from 1002-1012 South 4th St with plans to redevelop them. According to the city's website, it applied in Nov. 2022 for a Brownfields Clean-up Grant from the Environmental Protection Agency.
"This entire block has not been maintained for many years and the buildings have fallen into disrepair. These buildings are contaminated with hazardous substances (asbestos) which makes this entire block unsuitable for redevelopment without remediation," the city wrote on its website.
A structure engineer viewed the site in 2022 and indicated the building "was in severe disrepair and had many failed structural elements," according to the ECIA Brownfields Program report.
"This stemmed from a failed roof system and years of water infiltration... The water damage is the root cause of the failed structural elements. Furthermore, the building shares common walls with an adjoining building that is in serious or worse condition," the report said.
Clinton planned to demolish the building, but couldn't right away due to the high cost of demolition and the lack of available tax dollars, according to the press release. Two months ago, the city was awarded a $500,000 Brownfields Clean-up Grant. It has begun the federal process to work on remediating and demolishing the structure.
The southbound westerly lane and half of 4th Street will be closed until further notice. Once the rubble is cleared from the street and traffic can safely navigate, the easterly lane will reopen.