Around 2pm Monday, the Charlottesville Fire Department responded to a call about a possible roof collapse at 206 W. Market St—the site of a proposed private club.
Battalion Chief Richard Jones says the department arrived, checked the power inside the building and sent officials from Neighborhood Development Services up in the fire truck’s bucket lift to view the top of the building and evaluate whether or not the roof will collapse.
NDS will take over from there, with the help of the building contractor, according to Jones. But to an excited young boy who stopped to see the fire truck in action, he didn’t mince words.
“We’re going to go up there on top of that building and make sure it doesn’t fall down,” he said.
Josh Rogers and his business partners talked to C-VILLE about the club, Common House, earlier this month.
“The roof is completely caved in now,” Rogers says, adding that he and his team are currently meeting to discuss possible remedies. His focus is to prevent any further damage and to make sure surrounding people and businesses are protected, but in light of things, he says, “We’re obviously going to move forward after this setback.”
Charlottesville police are currently directing traffic around what the city has called an “unstable structure” and have closed Market Street from Old Preston to First Street. Second Street is being closed from High Street to Water Street.