MUSCATINE, Iowa — 17 residents of a Muscatine apartment were evacuated after a structural engineer identified potential safety concerns in the building.
The engineer found walls at the 123 year old Welch Apartment were bulging out, and floors were also pulling away from the walls. There are 26 units inside the building. Due to safety concerns, sidewalks and parking spaces near the apartment on West Third Street and Iowa Avenue have been blocked off while safety risks are evaluated.
Structural engineers have been hired to assess the damage and figure out whether there are solutions to the concerns. The property owner will decide whether or not to demolish the building once the findings have been returned.
City officials say that the property owner is providing residents with rooming at a local hotel and a dining stipend while they're displaced. The owner will also pay to relocate their belongings once a new place to live has been found.
The building has been listed on the National Registry of Historic Places since 1979. It became a contributing property in the Downtown Commercial Historic District in 2006.
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