The owner of a vacant building that was declared unsafe by the city has until 12 p.m. Wednesday to prove his property is structurally sound.
Pieces of plaster started falling off 195 Main St. last week. Firefighters noticed one of the chimneys looked like it was going to fall off the building onto the sidewalk. The city closed the sidewalk on the Main Street side of the building because of a safety concern. The mayor’s office worried the front of the building might peel off.
At an Aldermen’s meeting Thursday, building official Carlo Sarmiento said the chimney had collapsed within the building.
But the property owner contends the structural integrity of the building is still OK, Andrew Baklik, Mayor Rich Dziekan’s chief of staff said in an email over the weekend.
The building has been vacant since Aug. 2015. Public records list the owner as Derby Shores, LLC.
Baklik said the property owner agreed to take steps to prevent more debris from falling down.
The dilapidated building is highly visible at the corner of Main and Minerva across from Derby City Hall.
The Connecticut Post reported a member of the company that owns the building said extensive work had been done in recent years to improve the building. Click here to read the story.
The Derby Shores, LLC has two separate civil actions listed in court, records show.
The company allegedly owes thousands in delinquent sewer bills, and the Derby Water Pollution Control Authority is taking steps to foreclose on the property.
Derby Shores, LLC also filed a lawsuit against its insurance carrier, claiming the carrier failed to pay out for major damage done to the building’s roof after a 2013 blizzard.
