St. Charles’ Main St. fully open near endangered building

A building in downtown St. Charles that was in danger of collapsing has been stabilized enough that traffic restrictions near it have been lifted.

And the city was hoping to let businesses in an adjacent building back into their spaces sometime late Wednesday.

Bob Vann, the city’s building and code enforcement commissioner, said the traffic restriction — which closed one lane of eastbound Main Street near 117 W. Main St. — was lifted around 5:30 p.m. Tuesday. The closure was intended to minimize vibrations near the building.

The second floor of the two-story building dropped about 18 inches Monday when a foundation wall in the basement failed, causing the main support beam to drop.

No one was in the building at the time. The main tenant is Szechwan Restaurant, which occupies the second floor.

Rx Cafe and Steel Beam Theatre, located next door at 111 W. Main, were off-limits Tuesday because their building shares a party wall with 117 W. Main St., with their floor joists attached to it. Officials were afraid if the 117 building collapsed further, it would pull 111 W. Main with it. But a temporary wall has been added to the 117 building to shore up that party wall, Vann said.

Steel posts and beams were put in Monday to stabilize 117, but the support beam has not been repositioned, nor will it be, until repairs to the building are designed, Vann said. He expects to meet with the owner in the next week.

Vann did not have a cost estimate for the damage to 117 W. Main St. And the building’s fate — if it can be repaired — is up to the owner.

“It all depends on what he wants to do,” Vann said.