NEW VIENNA — A large brick building in downtown New Vienna partially collapsed Wednesday morning.
Clinton-Highland Joint Fire District John Johnson told the News Journal they received a call shortly after 6:30 a.m. after workers in the building — which houses both Engine House Pizza and Stephanie’s Restaurant in the 100 block of West Main Street — heard bricks falling and they exited the building.
No injuries were reported.
The brick building next door at 132 W. Main St., owned by the Clinton County Land Bank, was in the final stages of demolition. Last summer the Village of New Vienna was awarded a Clinton County LEGACY Fund Grant Committee of up to $89,000 for its demolition as the 132 Main Street building was deemed “a serious safety concern.”
Clinton County Regional Planning Commission Executive Director Taylor Stuckert was on the scene Wednesday morning and told the News Journal that a structural engineer had worked with the building owner prior to the demolition.
The collapsed building is owned by Gary and Stephanie Evans, according to the Clinton County Auditor’s website, and was purchased in 2006.
Clinton County Engineer Jeff Linkous was also on the scene and stated that it “would take a lot of money to shore up” the building.
The block around the collapsed building was closed Wednesday and will probably remain that way for some time; the building is clearly unsound and subject to further collapse until it is shored up or razed.
