Wall collapse speeds up renovation

“There is no danger of the building collapsing,” the owner of Blackjack Office Center, Karen Wright said, after an exterior non-load bearing wall fell in the early morning hours of Friday, Dec. 15. The building, known as the Old Rotary Building to many, is located in downtown Dublin at 126 E. Blackjack. No one was injured.

Wright’s team of engineers and workers had already installed a steel beam and some metal mesh to help control the rocks in the event that they fell in order to create a safety zone.

They were scheduled in early January to bring in heavy machinery to remove the rocks from the 115-year old wall where the mortar had simply worn away.

The first floor of the building houses office spaces and the second floor is currently vacant. Wright along with her team had already installed a brand new interior wall on the second floor to aid in the project.

“No one is in danger,” Wright said, about the office center remaining open with hours unchanged.

Wright had already arrived at work on Friday morning around 6:15 a.m. when she said she began to hear rocks falling. The wall fell around 6:30 a.m.

“We are guessing the rain is what aiding in the wall falling at this point,” Wright said Friday morning.

The area behind the building and surrounding it has now been taped off by emergency services and a more simplified project to fix the wall will begin soon. The wall will be metal instead of rock.

Wright said the accident simply sped up the timeline of fixing the wall and work should be able to begin after the holidays.