DAVENPORT, Iowa — About three months before the partial collapse of a downtown Davenport apartment building — and again just two days before — a masonry company owner said he predicted it was coming.
People are also reading… Ryan Shaffer, co-owner of R. A. Masonry, was working nearby at 112 W. 3rd St., the former Antonella’s Pizza, in February. While on the job, he said, he was approached by Andrew Wold, the owner of the building where the collapse occurred. On Feb. 22, the city of Davenport issued a permit for, “structural masonry repairs to west elevation as specified in engineer's report.”
Latest Headlines Amputation frees woman from collapsed Iowa building debris In the next sentence, it was noted Bi-State was off the job as of March 1 because the “owner did not agree to their change order for installing brick outside.” “ was calling us and asking for I-beams and stuff to support it. I looked at it and was like, ‘There’s no saving it at this point,’” he said.
The city inspected the partially completed brickwork being done in the days before the collapse. That work also included internal concrete masonry with rebar and grout. Notes in the city inspection records pledged that the owner-hired engineer and city inspector would stop over periodically to see progress.
Select Structural Engineering, of Bettendorf, was hired by Wold to advise on work being done on the building in the past year. City officials said the engineering firm had determined that the building was structurally sound for tenants to stay in while the exterior work was being done. The report said two window openings appeared to be bricked over several years ago, and the clay-brick façade was"bulging outward."
The city also asked the court for an order barring Wold from further violations of the municipal code. A hearing, at which Wold can answer the charges, has been set for June 9. History of the buildingThe building dates back to the early 1900s, when it opened as the Hotel Davenport in 1907 with 150 rooms. At the time, it was heralded by a reporter for the Daily Times as “one of the finest hoteleries west of Chicago” and a beacon for progress in the downtown.