Demolition Completed on Collapsed Downtown Building

The property owner and the City of Willow Springs acted quickly to complete demolition of the old Curtis department store building, which partially collapsed onto Main Street on March 1. By Friday afternoon, privately contracted demolition crews, with City workers on site, demolished the remaining structure. One block of Main Street was closed to facilitate the work, but the roadway was open again by 3:00 p.m., and neighboring businesses remained open on Friday.

On the day of the initial collapse, the property owner, Blake Browne, told Howell County News that he had plans to demolish the building instead of restoring it. However, Browne said he had no reason to believe there were insurmountable structural problems with the building. Beverly Hicks, City Administrator of Willow Springs, said the same. The building was not a concern for the City. 

 

Safety concerns prompted swift action from Browne. By March 4, the City announced the street closure and the date of the demolition work.

 

“We appreciate the way in which Blake has handled this issue,” said Hicks in an email, “His cooperation and his intent to do what is right was displayed from the beginning of the collapse.”

 

Two excavators were on the site most of the day to demolish the three remaining walls of the structure, while leaving the shared firewall on the west side of the building intact. City workers were present for the demolition work.

“The City has been working with the owner throughout this cleanup, so we have been on scene making sure it is cleaned up properly. When cleaning up any area public safety is always our main concern,” commented Hicks. 

By the end of the business day, the building was down but debris remained to be cleaned up, and the sidewalk immediately in front of the building was closed to pedestrians.