Owners plan to repair fire-damaged building
Owners of the fire-damaged building that housed China Palace restaurant and several apartments on West Jefferson Street in Butler are planning to repair the structure.
The two-story building at 134-138 W. Jefferson St. sustained structural and water damage during a fire that broke out on the afternoon of Jan. 10.
More than two dozen people living in apartments in the building were displaced and the restaurant remains closed.
City building code official John Evans said he talked to the owner, Alpine Apartments, Thursday.
“They are tentatively planning to make repairs to the structure,” Evans said.
The owner will allow a few tenants who still have belongings in the building to retrieve their property before the city's contracted commercial building inspector, John Nath of Professional Code Services of Gibsonia, conducts an inspection to determine what work is needed to renovate the building, Evans said.
“We're assisting them in that process to avoid confusion on what's needed,” he said.
The building manager, who would only identify himself as Tom, said Alpine wants to repair the building so it can once again house the restaurant and apartments, and is getting cost proposals to replace the roof.
“We're getting bids right now for a new roof,” he said.
Alpine's insurance company hasn't determined the cause of the fire and hasn't allowed access to some apartments, he said.
“We'll get started as soon as we can. We'll have to go through and find out what needs to be done,” Tom said.
Some repair work will require the owner to submit drawings and plans to obtain building permits to carry out the work, he said.
No timetable is in place, but Evans said he hopes the inspection is performed in the next two or three weeks. Winter weather could cause delays, he said.
The building's roof will probably be the first thing to be repaired or replaced. Evans said he believes the owner is getting proposals for the roof work.
He said some parts of the building had structural damage and others only had water damage from the fire.
A state police fire marshal has completed his investigation, clearing the way for the owner to begin repairs, he said.
A report from the fire marshal on the cause and nature of the fire was not immediately available. City fire department officials said Thursday they had not yet received the report.
Some tenants have moved into other apartments owned by Alpine in the city and the company is helping other tenants remove their belongings from the damaged building, Tom said.
