JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The companies hired to implode the old City Hall Annex in January are facing a lawsuit over the damage it caused.
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Action News Jax has been reporting on that damage at the Blackstone Building, which owners say could take a year to fully repair.
Officials with the Florida Condominium Association, which owns the Blackstone Building, say they want the defendant companies to pay for damages the building sustained from the implosion of the old City Hall Annex back in January.
More than five months later, a handful of the Blackstone Building's windows are still boarded up and have yet to be prepared.
When the City Hall Annex came down in January, debris from the blast pelted the Blackstone Building, shattering dozens of windows and damaging the inside.
Action News Jax obtained documents highlighting the lawsuit.
The owners of the Blackstone Building allege Environmental Holdings Group and Controlled Demolition Inc. did not take the proper steps to protect their tenants and building.
According to the lawsuit, the Blackstone Building owners claim Environmental Holdings Group and Controlled Demolition Inc. improperly installed shaped charges, which are used to direct the force of the blast.
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“The allegation is the construction of those shaped charges was negligently performed, the shaping of them, the design of them and the placement of them,” Action News Jax Law and Safety Expert Dale Carson said.
The lawsuit also says there was supposed to be a protective Kevlar curtain installed to help shield the building, but the demolition companies decided a day before the implosion that the curtain would not be put up.
Shrapnel and debris from the implosion flew out across the street from the annex building, breaking several windows and damaging property in the Blackstone Building.
Carson says the companies hired for the demolition should be liable for the damages caused, especially since they used explosives.
“No matter what happens, they’re responsible. If someone was personally injured, they’d be responsible for that so the pressure is on the company that actually designed and installed the shaped charges,” said Carson.
Carson had an office in the building, but has since sold it and is not part of the lawsuit.
He also added that once this lawsuit is filed the defendants will have 20 days to respond and all three parties could come up with an agreement before heading to court.
Action News Jax reached out to both Controlled Demolition Inc. and Environmental Holdings Group and are waiting to hear back to get their side of the lawsuit.
Cox Media Group
