The attorney for the owner of the Schuylkill Trust Co. building in downtown Pottsville said Thursday engineers are studying sections of its facade which are reportedly crumbling.
With that, Magisterial District Judge James K. Reiley decided to continue a summary trial on a city citation related to the matter. The owner of the building at 101 N. Centre St., James J. Curran Jr., an attorney and president of Schuylkill Land & Realty Inc., Pottsville, thanked the judge.
“An engineering study is being done. We’d like to continue this matter to allow that to be completed and to estimate the cost of repairs as outlined by the violation notice,” the attorney Curran hired to represent him, Frank R. Cori, Orwigsburg, said at the hearing held at Reiley’s courtroom at 200 E. Arch St., Suite 125, Pottsville.
“Do you know how long it will take?” David J. Petravich, city building code officer, asked.
“I don’t know the answer to that, Dave,” Cori said.
“Do you want to reset it for 30 days?” Petravich asked the judge.
“I have absolutely no problem with granting that. The best thing for everyone is if there is no problem. Unfortunately, we do have a problem. And, by far, the best course to chart is one that’s dictated by expert testimony. A report on the matter will determine what we’re dealing with and what the best course of action is,” Reiley said.
“Thank you, judge,” Cori said.
Reiley said he will check his court schedule and contact the parties with a tentative dates for the summary trial.
“Please keep us apprised of the engineering study,” Reiley said.
Curran did not have the names of the engineering firms with him at the hearing Thursday. “They’re from out of town,” he said.
Cori advised Curran not to talk to the press about the matter.
On May 29, 2015, the city’s office of code enforcement received a complaint when a section of the building’s facade dropped to the sidewalk. Petravich said it was a section of the roof, part of the east side of the building where a plant was growing out of the side. During an inspection in May 2015, Petravich also noticed wear on numerous window sills.
On Aug. 25, Petravich issued Curran a notice of violation.
“From that point, he had 30 days to repair the structure,” Petravich said March 21.
But Petravich said the work was not done.
“The building is in violation of 2009 International Property Maintenance Code Section 304 Exterior Structure subsection 304.6 exterior walls,” Petravich said Sept. 8.
“The defendant failed to make repairs in a timely manner,” Petravich said in a nontraffic citation he issued Sept. 25.
In September, the building’s only tenant aside from Curran, Wells Fargo Bank, took precautions to protect pedestrians from potential falling debris. The bank hired Beth-Allen Ladder & Scaffold, Allentown, to build a covered walkway over the sidewalk. It runs along the North Centre Street and West Market Street sides of the building.
“We continue to pay for scaffolding you see at the building,” Kevin Friedlander, corporate communications manager at Wells Fargo & Co., said Monday.
The Schuylkill Trust Co. building was built in 1924, according to “Pottsville in the Twentieth Century,” a 2003 book in the Images of America series by Leo L. Ward and Mark T. Major.
It’s a 16,500 square foot property that sits on 0.38 acres, according to information provided by Angela D. Toomey, director of Schuylkill County Tax Claim Bureau.
The landmark has been experiencing troubled times in recent years.
Curran hasn’t paid taxes on the property in three years. As of Thursday, $101,343.87 is owed in back taxes on the property, Toomey said.
That included $35,715.89 in back taxes for 2013, $34,195.14 in back taxes for 2014, and $31,432.84 in back taxes for 2015, Toomey said.