Charleston, South Carolina. – A empty structure on King Street that is at risk of collapsing will be demolished this week.
Charleston city officials indicated the project may start as early as Monday. Demolition was scheduled to commence on November 14, however construction personnel stated that the structure contained asbestos and that the site needed to be completely confined and saturated before any demolition could take place.
This process may cause the demolition to be delayed even further.
Charleston police and fire departments were dispatched to 1001 King Street on Friday, Oct. 31, after the left side of a vacant building partially fell due to termite damage that caused the roof trusses to fail.
When the building partially collapsed, the city closed roads and sidewalks as a safety precaution, and city officials immediately began working to develop a safe dismantling plan.
“This is a unique situation because of its proximity to the adjacent building next door, 995 King,” stated Ken Granata, Chief Building Official for the City of Charleston.
City officials stated that their top objective is to minimize the damage on surrounding properties while keeping the public safe.
