Garage closed as collapse cause investigated

It may be weeks before the cause of the Centergy parking deck collapse at Spring and Fifth streets is determined, the company that operates the garage said Friday.

According to Harry Conley, president and CEO of Fifth Street Management Company, OSHA investigators haven’t yet offered any theories on what happened.

Enlarge this image

John Spink/jspink@ajc.com

A firefighter examines a damaged vehicle..

RELATED:

Visuals:
• Cars, concrete removed Wednesday
• Big picture of parking deck
• Parking deck collapses
• Cars destroyed
• Video
• Map of area

Stories
• Car removal may be complete Thursday • UGA inpsecting garages as search of parking deck continues
• Owners reunited with crushed cars
• Garage builder fined in walkway collapse

• How to find your car

“We haven’t been given that information,” he said. ” We still don’t know what happened.”

The remaining cars were removed from the deck Thursday night. A total of about 700 cars had been removed, said Conley. In all, 45 were determined damaged and unuseable, with another indeterminable number of cars in need of “cosmetic repairs.”

“In regards to those who have been affected and lost cars, we have been in contact with them and the property insurance company,” said Conley. “All of those issues have to be worked out. In the meantime, they have been instructed to contact their insurance companies to make arrangements for other modes of transportation and then come back and talk to us.”

A few of the damaged cars have not been claimed, he added.

The Atlanta Fire Department, which had control of the property following the collapse Monday afternoon, has turned the lot back over to Conley’s company.

“The last thing the chief said before leaving last night was, ‘We will be getting together about the bill,’” said Conley. “We are immensely grateful for the work they have done these few days. They called in resources from all over the state. The operation they ran here has been phenomenal.”

However, the garage is not open and will not be until repairs are complete.

The existing structure is in relatively stable shape, said Conley. They anticipate it may take anywhere from three to six months before repairs are finished, but the work won’t begin until OSHA has completed its probe. In the meantime, Fifth Street Management is setting up parking for its tenants.

“No repairs will begin until the cause of the collapse is determined,” said Conley. “There will be some preliminary meetings in the next few weeks and a new design plan put into place.”

Who will do the repairs has not been determined, even though Conley said his group has had discussions with Hardin Construction, the company that oversaw the original project.