‘High structural instability risks’ at Empire Towers as county officials maintain collapse zone

Anne Arundel County officials have established a 150-foot safety perimeter around the Empire Towers office building in Glen Burnie because of “high structural instability risks,” the county’s emergency management director said Tuesday.

County officials expect it will take about 10 days to stabilize the building once construction begins, but they still don’t know what caused a partial collapse in the building’s underground garage, which led to the structural issues.

The building was compromised on July 9 during unpermitted construction in the garage. Preeti Emrick, director of the county’s Office of Emergency Management, said contractors plan to begin remediation work this week.

She said the building’s owners have hired a structural engineering firm and other contractors to complete the work of reinforcing the building. She did not know offhand the names of the contractors.

“County inspectors will conduct routine inspections throughout to ensure compliance with approved plans and code,” Emrick said.

But as of Tuesday afternoon, no one had been able to get far enough into the garage to conduct a thorough assessment of what happened last week, county officials said at a press conference.

“The biggest challenge right now is not a single person hired by the property owner to provide a full assessment has been able to make it even halfway back into the garage,” Assistant Fire Chief Larry Schultz said.

Contractors will first have to stabilize parts of the building so crews can get deeper into the garage and better understand the issues, Schultz said.

The contractors have so far “avoided any conversation” about how the collapse happened, he said.

The safety perimeter of 150 feet marks a potential collapse zone equal to 1 1/2 times the building’s height.

A lane reduction on Ritchie Highway remains in place, shifting traffic away from the collapse zone. There are road closures along Crain Highway, too, with traffic being detoured onto Eighth Avenue and state Route 648.

The building’s owner, Sawhney Commercial LLC, could not immediately be reached for comment.

Emergency officials first responded to Empire Towers on Thursday after a 911 call from someone who went to the underground garage to get their car and saw concrete on the ground, Schultz said.

“They didn’t watch anything collapse, but there was enough debris on the floor that they were concerned,” he said.

Officials said they were not aware of any code or permit violations related to the safety of the building. There was one violation in 2016 related to an unpermitted tenant, Emrick said.

The responsibility for reinforcing the building is with the owners, not the county, Emrick said. She called this a “fast-developing situation” and said county officials would provide updates, including online at aacounty.org/empiretowers.

Emergency grants available

County officials with the Anne Arundel Economic Development Corp. have created a $2,500 disaster recovery grant program for businesses inside the building or within the 150-foot collapse zone, from 7300 to 7314 Ritchie Highway.

To qualify, businesses must either lack insurance that would cover losses or have an insurance deductible higher than $2,500.

The grant funds can be used for payroll, lost revenue or the replacement of lost equipment or inventory.

The building is home to several businesses, including law firms and medical offices. Dr. Sridhar Atluri, who normally practices inside Empire Towers, said he has been busy fielding patient calls since the building closed.

“We are fortunate enough to have a satellite office and we are seeing urgent cases there,” Atluri said. “It’s a much smaller space, not ideal, but it is working out OK.”

Empire Towers is also home to a blood donation center for the American Red Cross. In an emailed statement, the organization encouraged anyone who had a donation appointment to reschedule it at another site.

In an emailed statement, Amy Gowan, president and CEO of the Anne Arundel Economic Development Corp., encouraged businesses affected by the incident to reach out.

“We recognize the uncertainty and disruption this situation has created, and our team is committed to helping however we can,” she said.

County officials said they are working on creating detours between properties near the collapse zone, so that drivers can safely navigate between closed roads and reach businesses that are still open.

Down the street from Empire Towers, business has continued as usual at Dave’s Trailer Sales. Bill Collins, an employee there, said the building at 432 Crain Highway N. is far enough away that they’ve been unaffected.

“We can still drive in and out,” he said, adding that he feels bad about the circumstances because it’s “screwed so many people.”

Empire Towers was once the tallest building in Anne Arundel County, but that title now belongs to the hotel at Maryland Live! at Arundel Mills. About 100 people were evacuated from the building last week, and no injuries were reported at the time.

Banner reporter Matti Gellman contributed to this story.