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North Plum Street Housing Update

August 23, 2019 | Bureau of Code Compliance & Inspections Department of Neighborhood Engagement Mayor's Office

To ensure the safety of city residents, seven houses were condemned for significant structural issues on August 7, 2019. An adjacent property was condemned the following week for a broken sewer pipe. All residents in need were provided with temporary housing, and all who requested were provided with housing navigation support from the Community Action Partnership. As of today, all but two households have found alternative housing with ongoing assistance being provided to those in need. City staff have been in regular communication with residents and property owners, which will continue.

On August 8, the City took the very unusual step of engaging a structural engineer to evaluate the properties. The structural engineer brought in additional geotechnical engineers to complete ground-penetrating sonar to determine the extent of the below-ground issues. That scanning was completed today, and it will take at least one and a half weeks to receive those results at which point the structural engineers can evaluate the geotechnical analysis and provide a report to the City. At that point, we will be able to evaluate next steps and a possible timeline.

This is an incredibly complex situation, the likes of which have not been seen in the city to date. While we share the frustration of residents who have been displaced, we are exceedingly grateful that no one was physically harmed in this situation. The safety of residents is the city’s first and foremost responsibility and priority.