City of Adrian receives second Riverview Terrace engineering report

ADRIAN — Adrian city officials have received a second structural engineering investigation report about what is wrong with the condemned Riverview Terrace apartment building.

Based on structural engineering firm Thornton Tomasetti's preliminary review and site observations, the existing 12-story structure along College Avenue near downtown Adrian has what the engineers called a "discontinuous lateral load path" and "significant distress exists at the connection of the facade to the floor system," the engineering report says.

The building should not be reoccupied until repairs can be implemented. However, the scope of work to repair the building has not yet been identified, the report said.

Riverview Terrace is an independent-living community for people who are 62 or older or who are permanently disabled. The structure was condemned and its approximately 175 tenants were told to evacuate July 25 after a 6- to 9-inch gap between the floor and a wall was found in a third-floor apartment while carpet was being removed. Inspections since then found several more cracks throughout the building. Officials have said it appears the exterior walls are separating from the interior structure of the building.

The city received the new report Wednesday. It is dated Aug. 18. Thornton Tomasetti representatives first arrived in Adrian and inspected the apartment building Aug. 1.

The engineers also reviewed the original site plans and documentation from Feb. 18, 1972, prepared by architecture firm Francis A. Faulhaber and Associates. The primary superstructure consists of 8-inch, hollow core, precast plank floors supported on load bearing masonry walls.

Cracks, which were parallel to the span of the planks of various widths, were observed by the engineering firm upon its Aug. 1 visit. The cracks, the report said, were primarily observed adjacent to the exterior walls, adjacent to the interior walls along the side of the stairs and in the main corridors.

"Cracks were typically observed from the underside of the planks as they are generally exposed within the units," the report said. "At some locations, the carpet was removed, and cracks were observed from above. In addition to the horizontal nature of the cracks, vertical displacement was also commonly observed.

"Cracks were observed at all floors that were visited, however, no significant cracks were observed at the roof level."

The most severe cracks, the report said, have been observed at the floor connections to the stiffest walls. While no distress was observed at the building's exterior, the exterior facade remains at risk of possible failure in a wind event, due to the damaged connections to the base building structure, the report said.

Because of those concerns, the building is not to be inhabited, and the city's established perimeter around the building and along College Avenue is to remain in place "due to the potential for failure of the facade," the report said.

Adrian city commissioners were told Tuesday that funding for hotel stays at the Super 8 motel in Adrian and the Tecumseh Inn runs out Thursday, Sept. 15. Riverview Terrace residents need to find long-term, stable housing by that time. Residents who are living at the city-owned Adrian Inn motel will be able to remain in their rooms by paying $300 monthly rent with a $100 security deposit. The rent for September will be pro-rated.

The rent amount was based upon what the $600 a month that the residents had been paying for their homes in the high-rise.

The city purchased the Adrian Inn in August for $800,000 and is using the motel as transitional housing for 70-80 residents. The motel is currently being operated by the city's engineering services department as the city seeks additional staff to assist in its daily operations.

Adrian's Emergency Operation Center has been working with the residents to find available housing options, whether that be within Lenawee County or outside of the county, the city said Friday in a news release. Medallion Management, the company that manages Riverview Terrace apartments, also has been assisting residents with locating stable housing options, including informing residents of available apartments at other Medallion-operated properties in other cities. Several residents have applied for housing outside of the county, the city said.

"The EOC team is organizing moving assistance for those residents who have decided to move to apartments in other locations," the city's release said.

Since the evacuation, residents have stayed at hotels and motels in both Lenawee and Monroe counties. Other residents have found additional housing arrangements, and some are living with family. The Michigan State Housing Development Authority has been paying for motel stays through the use of hotel vouchers. Medallion Management paid for the initial motel stays, including two weeks from July to August at the new hotel at Splash Universe in Dundee.

Residents who may be in need of assistance can continue to call the Riverview Terrace hotline at 517-264-6360.

The Lenawee Community Foundation continues to accept monetary donations to benefit the residents of the condemned apartments. Donations can be made through www.lenaweecommunityfoundation.com and by selecting the designation "Riverview Terrace Response Fund."

The city of Adrian and its EOC team continue to receive assistance and resources from Housing Help of Lenawee, Lenawee County Department on Aging, Region 2 Area Agency on Aging, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, MSHDA, Salvation Army and Lenawee County Emergency Management.