ROCK ISLAND, Ill. — Update Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2023:
Residents in a downtown Rock Island apartment building are back home after no structural issues were found, according to Mayor Mike Thoms.
The city evacuated residents when a neighbor reported falling bricks from the exterior. The mayor said this was cosmetic and crews have set up scaffolding to start fixing it.
"The engineers did a thorough investigation, along with the city inspectors, and found it to be perfectly safe to live there," Thoms said. "It was more of a cosmetic issue and they're currently, as we see, working on that and making it look better again."
Spellbound, the business located on the first floor of the building, is open during construction.
Previous story published Tuesday, June 20, 2023:
Residents were evacuated from a building in downtown Rock Island after a neighbor reported bricks falling from the exterior Monday evening.
The Rock Island Fire Department and the city's Inspections Division have fenced off 217 17th St. until the owner, A Hana Growers, LLC, can have it more thoroughly evaluated, according to a press release.
The evacuation comes nearly a month after the apartment building in downtown Davenport collapsed.
The building houses four residential units on the top floors and a commercial space at street level. One unit is unoccupied, and only two units had residents inside at the time of evacuation.
City staff said the affected households were provided with contact information for the Red Cross, which can provide housing vouchers as needed. All residents are safe and in temporary accommodations.
Miles Brainard, community and economic development director for the City of Rock Island, said a representative from the building's owner was on site with the fire department and Inspections Division.
"The building has been fenced off and a notice of violation will be issued today," Brainard said. "The notice will order that a structural assessment be conducted and scope of work for repairs be prepared within seven days. At this time, reconstruction of the parapet on the front roof line of the building is the known extent of the repairs. Additional work may be required following the structural assessment."
Brainard said the cause of the deterioration is not currently known. City staff will work with the property owner to achieve minimum code compliance after a comprehensive evaluation has been completed.
The commercial space on the bottom floor is occupied by Spellbound, a new age gift shop. The store opened in 2015 and is owned and operated by Sarah Jacoby.
According to a Facebook post from the store, the business is currently closed due to the evacuation and is unsure when it will reopen.
"We're just grateful that this is an inconvenience for us and the upstairs tenants, and not a tragedy," the post reads.
The city's economic development team is available to offer Spellbound assistance if necessary.
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