The building at 195 Main St. in Derby has seen better days.
A week after Derby declared a building unsafe to enter, not a whole lot has changed, at least to the naked eye.
The barriers the city put up on the sidewalk to protect people from falling chunks of stucco are still in front of 195 Main St.
The orange stickers on the windows screaming “THIS BUILDING IS UNSAFE …” are still there, too.
The facade of the building still looks like it’s nursing the world’s worst hangover.
But behind the scenes the building’s owner supplied the city with documentation this week certifying the vacant four-story building is structurally sound.
Andrew Baklik, Mayor Rich Dziekan’s chief of staff, said the city’s lawyer has been communicating with lawyer Michael Hillis, who the city says is a principal in the limited liability company that owns the building. The two sides had different opinions as to whether the building was safe.
“We had our opinion from our structural engineer. However, our structural engineer had not been granted access to the inside of the building. From the outside, from what everybody else sees, it looked like pieces were going to fall onto Main Street. That was the main concern,” Baklik said.
But Hillis had his engineer enter the building for a closer inspection, Baklik said.
“He’s done a more thorough inspection and has come up with the opinion that the building is not in danger of collapsing. The issue is more with the roof and the facade,” Baklik said.
Stuff started falling off 195 Main St. in recent weeks. On March 13 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 last week, building official Carlo Sarmiento noted the chimney had collapsed within the building.
Now a contractor is supposed to arrive and put scaffolding up on the Main Street side of the building and perhaps netting, Baklik said.
“(The owner) has provided documentation saying it is safe. The liability no longer lies with the city. His engineer had access to the building,” Baklik said.
The building has been vacant since Aug. 2015.
The owner, 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.
Is City Hall confident the issues with the hulking building will get addressed?
“Attorney Hillis said he doesn’t want to lose the building. He doesn’t want to demolish the building. He has high hopes for the building,” Baklik said.
The two sides will likely negotiate further over the type of work needed to improve the property, which was on the city’s blight list at some point.
The Valley Indy reached out to the owners Wednesday.