Elgin orders emergency repairs on Tower Building
The city of Elgin has ordered the owner of the Tower Building to make emergency repairs and install a protective canopy over the sidewalk after pieces of limestone fell off its facade.
The order, issued Monday, directs the Stickling Foundation to build the canopy and provide evidence by March 1 that a qualified third party has assessed the facade and any necessary repairs are underway, Corporation Counsel Bill Cogley wrote in an email to City Manager Sean Stegall and city council members Monday afternoon.
The building is surrounded by a protective fence installed by the city; no injuries have been reported from limestone pieces, which weigh up to 60 pounds and have been falling for about two weeks, Stegall said.
Stickling Foundation manager Neal Pitcher did not return an email seeking comment. A phone number listed for him wasn't answered and had no voice mail set up.
The Stickling Foundation is in negotiations to sell the building to developer Richard Souyoul of Chicago and St. Louis-based Capstone Development Group, who want to turn it into rental units.
Cogley said he called Pitcher Feb. 8 to inform him that immediate action, including installing the canopy, was required.
“Mr. Pitcher indicated the Stickling Foundation did not have any resources but that he would discuss the matter with the current contract purchaser Capstone. Mr. Pitcher has not gotten back to me and no action has been taken at the property,” Cogley wrote.
Souyoul said he has not heard from Pitcher and doesn't know if Pitcher called Capstone. Capstone owner Bill Luchini did not return a call seeking comment.
Due to legal concerns, Souyoul said, he won't be building the canopy. “We're trying to wrap things up and we don't want to go in and do work on somebody else's building,” Souyoul said. “The lawyers don't recommend that.”
The city will take the matter to court if the Stickling Foundation does not comply, Stegall said. The city will take matters in its own hands if necessary, he said.
“We're going to do whatever needs to be done to make sure that people are safe, that that building is safe,” he said. “That covered walkway, or something similar that still provides a commensurate level of safety, will be constructed.”
Mayor David Kaptain agreed. “The burden falls back on him (the building owner) to put up scaffolding or netting or whatever they do on buildings like this,” he said. “If he doesn't, it's our responsibility to take it to court. We can also do it ourselves and put a lien against the building.”
As for whether the building's sale will be finalized, the falling limestone has complicated the pending deal, Souyoul said. “What happened there presents an additional challenge,” he said. As for whether it will kill the deal, “it's hard to say,” he said.